


Lightning Strikes

by vulcanprodigy



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, M/M, No chip, OC, Underage (sort of), the data emotions thing is solved differently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-02-11 21:28:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2083794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vulcanprodigy/pseuds/vulcanprodigy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was hard to believe that he was an android. He had a very human quality about him; it was sort of a keen and pure interest in simple things. In any case, he seems like quite a character. She smiled again. "An android that stops to stare at flowers. Amazing."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> So this was never meant to see the light of day. It got kinda long, so I figured what the hell... I have about 8 chapters written already so I'll just post a couple over the course of a few days while I'm writing the rest. I'm also writing a sterek fic, so I apologize for any delays :)
> 
> enjoy

“Mom, I understand your position on this ship full well. What I do _not_ understand is why _I_ have to be here too,” Kayla pouted. She knew it was childish, but she really couldn’t give less of a shit in that moment.

“Kayla, sweetie, you can learn to love being on a starship. I know I’ve uprooted you and you’ll really miss your friends back on Tarnera VI but I couldn’t just leave you there by yourself,” her mother countered. She was right, and objectively Kayla knew that, but it was really hard to accept. She loved space. She really did, and if she had the brain capacity to do so, she’d apply to Starfleet Academy. But the fact of the matter is, she didn’t, and this just wasn’t the right time for her. Her life had just started to pick up back home, which, she might add, was about time for a seventeen year old.

“I understand, Mom. Besides, you know how much I would love being here at any other time in my life. I’m just pissed, that’s all,” she conceded as she sat on her new bed. “Plus, living in a cabin—quarters, sorry—is gonna be a big change from a house.”

“I get it, honey. I do, and I’m sorry that the timing isn’t… ideal,” she sat down next to her on the bed and put her arms around Kayla.

“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. I’m just really gonna miss the people back home, you know?” She rested her head on her mother’s shoulder.

She rubbed her arm and pressed a kiss on her hair. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

 

Finding no sense in spending her first day aboard the Enterprise sulking, she decided to take a stroll around the ship and familiarize herself with her new home for the next half a decade. She stopped short. _Half a decade._ Kayla was never good at long-term commitments, and this was going to be no different. _Oh God_ , she thought. _I’m gonna spend the rest of my teenage years—and probably some of my early 20s—on a fucking starship._ Suddenly she wondered about her prospects in the… romantic area. Though she wouldn’t admit it, Kayla was a huge romantic sap. And, though she would never measure her worth by whether or not she was in a romantic relationship with someone, she knew that finding that one person she truly clicked with was a priority in her life. She didn’t want some knight in shining armor or some bullshit like that, but rather a companion who makes her laugh, and a companion with whom she could go through life with. And also fuck. A lot.

 

She started down the corridor once more. _Would it kill someone to up some sort of map of this place?_ She had no idea where she was going and at this rate it won’t take long for her to get totally and completely lost.

 

“A turbolift! God almighty, bless you, you glorious metal tube,” she said to herself as she approached it.

“…Are you alright?” came a voice from somewhere behind her.

Whirling around, she caught the eyes of the owner of the voice. It was a boy, maybe a year or two younger than her. She estimated him to be around sixteen years old. She noticed that he wasn’t wearing civilian clothes, but was wearing a grey jumpsuit with a ridiculous rainbow-esque strip of cloth wrapped around his upper chest and shoulder area.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just trying to orient myself a bit. I’m new and this is a humongous ship.”

He laughed lightly, “I don’t think that’s a word, but yes it is a big ship. It’s also the best one in the fleet,” he said, voice filled with pride. He looked at her with kind eyes, which seemed to flicker with faint recognition. “Are you Lieutenant Peyton’s daughter?”

“Yes, I am. You know, it’s strange hearing someone refer to my mom like that. Liuetenant,” she tasted the word. “I’m Kayla,” she stuck out a hand. He took it and introduced himself.

“I’m Wesley, Wesley Crusher, and I know exactly what you mean. My mom is the ship’s CMO and when I’m on duty I have to called her by her rank.” He dropped my hand.

“Yeah I see how that could get a bit weir—did you just say, ‘when you’re on duty’? How old are you??” She had to admit, she was a bit surprised. She could’ve sworn he was younger than her. And even then, to become an ensign on a starship, not to mention the fleet’s flagship, one would have to graduate Starfleet Academy. Even assuming that he’s some sort of child prodigy who graduated at like fifteen or sixteen, becoming an ensign at that age seemed like a bit of a stretch.

He laughed again. “I get that a lot. I’m sixteen, but was designated acting ensign by Captain Picard a few months back.”

She was impressed.

“I am impressed. What are you, some kind of genius?” Kayla felt like it was all right to tease him. He seemed like a nice kid.

“Well… kind of, yes,” he answered. Usually she would take that as an obnoxious thing to say, but she could tell that he didn’t mean it that way. He really was just smart, apparently.

“Anyway,” he started, “is there anywhere I could show you to?”

“Well I don’t really know where anything is, so surprise me I guess.”  
He smiled and they started walking towards the turbolift.

“Well, I’d show you the bridge, but technically I’m not a ‘real’ officer so I don’t get to invite people up there. How about Ten Forward?”

“I’m gonna pretend to know what you’re talking about. Let’s go.”

 

\----

“So basically this is where everybody hangs out. Food, drinks, that sort of thing?” she asked him, taking it all in. It had a nice atmosphere. There was a sense of relaxation and fun lingering around the room, despite its dark appearance. The windows that stretched across far left wall of it were what really did it for her, though. From those she could see a myriad of beautiful constellations and even an occasional nebula dart past.

“How fast are we going?” she breathed, not taking her eyes off the view.

“Last time I was on the bridge it was around Warp 4. We’re not really in a rush anywhere since our destination is only one star system away. The only reason we’re at warp 4 and not 2 right now is because we had to go a little out of our way to pick up some supplies, and I guess you and your mom.”

“The view is amazing, Wes. I could get used to this.” She tore her eyes away finally and surveyed the bar. “Let’s see what they have around here.” She walked over to the bar, where a kind-looking woman was leaning against the counter, a light smile playing on her lips as she gazed around the crowded room.

“Hi! Excuse me, could I get a menu please?” Wesley walked up behind her and slid into the nearest stool.

The woman smiled as she turned towards Kayla. “I am your menu. Just tell me what you’re in the mood for and I’ll get it for you.”

She hummed in thought for a moment or two, then finally settled for something sweet. “Do you have something sweet to drink that’s sort of watery and light?”

“Something sweet and light, coming right up,” she said brightly.

“She’s really nice,” said Kayla. “Where is she from?”

“Yeah, she is. And she’s really good at advice, too, if you ever need that sort of thing. Her name’s Guinan, and she’s an El-Aurian.”

“I’ve never heard of that race.”

“Not many people have. All I know is that they’re a race of listeners. Hence the good advice,” he smiled.

“Why thank you, Wesley,” Guinan said as she appeared with a light green translucent drink in her hand. “It’s Rudavian fruit juice,” she said, setting down the cup in front of her. She accepted it graciously, as she had just noticed how thirsty she actually was. Kayla took an experimental sip of the sweet-smelling drink and was pleasantly surprised.

“This is so good! I’ve never heard of it, but it’s like Hawaii in a cup. I swear I can taste the sunshine, Guinan. Thanks!” She then proceeded to knock down the whole thing in four gulps and bringing the cup down slightly harder than she intended when she finished.

“That,” Kayla awed, “was amazing.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” she smiled as she took away the glass and moved on to her next patron.

“Kay, I have to be on duty in,” Wesley checked his watch, “five minutes. I still can’t invite you up to see the bridge, but would you like to walk with me to the turbolift? I get off in around three hours. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the kids onboard.”

Kayla wasn’t too happy at the prospect of being left to her own devices, but she followed him out anyway. He started telling her about the other kids he studies with on our way out.

“—And there’s Rekku, he’s really nice too I think you’ll like him—“

Then they promptly bumped into a kind-yet-intense looking red-haired woman.

“I’m sorry ma’am! We weren’t watching where we were going and just hereletmehelpyouwiththat,” she forced out, a bit panicky. She didn’t want to be yelled at on her first day here, especially not by someone important-looking. She felt her face go red as she bent down to pick up the woman’s PADD.

“Kayla, Kayla, stop it it’s okay,” Wesley laughed, “It’s just my mom.”

As she handed her back the PADD, she noticed that the woman was smiling at me too.

“I’m Doctor Beverly Crusher, but you can call me Beverly.”  
“Is it okay if I don’t do that? Not out of rudeness or anything but I feel weird when I address adults I don’t know well yet by their first names. I think I’m just gonna stick with Dr. Crusher if that’s all right with you,” she said, gathering confidence. Honesty was an important thing in Kayla’s life because if she did not convey (politely of course) how she truly felt in a situation, then she would feel… fake, she mused would be the right word.

“That’s fine. Kayla was it?” She nodded her head.

“Her mother is Lieutenant Peyton, they’re the new arrivals.”

“I guessed as much, Wes,” she turned to her, “Would you like to see the bridge?”

She may have nodded her head with a bit more enthusiasm as she probably should have, but in her defense, she really was excited to see it for herself.

“If it’s okay, of course… I don’t want to impose or anything.”  
“It’ll have to be a short visit, and you have to understand that if anything potentially dangerous occurs you will have to leave immediately. Other than that, it should be fine.”

 

As soon as the doors of the turbolift opened, she knew that she had found the place she wanted to be in in the future. She could see the captain’s chair, and in it Captain Picard himself. He had an almost completely bald, egg-shaped head, but she could definitely see why he attracted so many people. Hey, she’s heard things back at the starbase. There were quite a few people milling about, most of them sticking to their posts. There was a Klingon male in command gold just a few meters away from her. She had never seen a Klingon from so close before, and it intrigued her. Near Captain Picard sat a gorgeous woman with neatly pinned up dark curls cascading down her back. As she stood up, Kayla could see that her uniform was different from the others’ and was definitely more form fitting than what she was used to seeing on an officer. Not that she was complaining. At all.

To the right of the captain, she saw an exceptionally tall man (for a human at least) sporting a lush, dark brown beard. He stood with his arms crossed, watching the viewscreen. As he turned around--- _oh no. Dear god, this guy is tall, has dark hair, and light blue eyes. My greatest weakness! If I don’t stop looking right now, the secret to my destruction could be revealed. Does everybody on this bridge need to be so damn attractive? It’s like they handpicked these people from a holo-mag and plopped them in here._ She sighed. _Well then._

“Is everything okay?” asked Wesley, eyeing her strangely. _Damn_.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Just enjoying the view,” she answered, nodding at the screen. Technically it wasn’t a lie, as she was, in fact, enjoying the view very much.

“Is this the usual crew?” she asked, diverting the attention away from her over-active libido.

“Pretty much… except,” he squinted, looking around the room. “Where’s Data?”

“Oh, I think he said something about heading down to engineering to work on something with Geordi,” answered Dr. Crusher.

“That’s a shame,” Wesley said, “I was looking forward to asking him about one of my projects.” He looked downcast at the news. “Anyway, my shift is starting now so I guess I’ll see you later, Kayla,” he bid goodbye as he headed towards his station.

_Data? What an odd name. I’m gonna ask Wes about that._

“Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit,” said the doctor. “It really is something, isn’t it?” she nodded towards the view screen. “Sorry it had to be so short, but civilians shouldn’t be here in the first place, you understand.”

“Yeah, no problem! It was really nice seeing this. It gave me some perspective.” She grinned and turned to leave. “Oh, but before I forget: how do I get back to my quarters?”

The doctor laughed and pushed a button on the wall behind Kayla’s head, and a map of the decks popped up on the small viewscreen.

“When you see a screen like this, just press that green button and this’ll pop up. Other than that, you could just ask the computer to show you the way to any location.” She thanked her and stepped into the lift.

“Deck 4, please.”


	2. Pop Goes the Weasel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla's bored. Holodeck 3 is empty. Or at least, it was...

All things considered, she had quite a nice first day. At least she met someone that could help her find her way around here, and perhaps even a friend. She was back in her quarters, scrolling through her lesson schedule for the next week. Then a name caught her eye.

 

_Advanced Astrophysics – Lieutenant Commander Data_

Here was this mysterious ‘Data’ figure again. _Honestly, who in their right mind would name their child ‘Data’?_ She wondered. Perhaps some extreme computer engineering enthusiasts, but even that seemed a little steep. Well, only time will tell. According to the schedule, she will have class with him on Tuesday morning, two days from then.

 

The door chime sounded, and her mother entered, looking tired but excited after her first day on the Enterprise.

“Hey Mom. How was your first day? Meet any hotties at the science station? A dark, mysterious stranger perhaps, his fixed gaze still lurking in the back of your mind?” Kayla teased, wiggling her eyebrows. It’s been over a decade since Dad died, and even though they both miss him sometimes, it was plenty of time to move on.

She just swatted at her in response. “No, I did _not_. Even if I had, I wouldn’t tell you. Not to mention that it’s strongly frowned upon to fraternize with fellow officers.”

“Fraternize? Which century are you even from, Mother?” she laughed. “That’s a shame though. On the bright side, there are some _very_ attractive ‘fellow officers’ located on the bridge. That beardy first officer looked absolutely—“ she was cut off by her mother’s piercing glare.

“You are seventeen years old, young lady.”

“So? I’m not _blind_ ,” she countered.

“That’s very true, but I don’t want to hear it,” she looked down. “It feels like yesterday that you were a little, teeny tiny, helpless baby—“

“ _No_.”

“—totally dependent on your unusually attractive mother’s selfless care—“

“I am leaving.” She started to the door.

“So _tiny_ and _helpless_ ,” her mother sauntered after her.

“Goodbye, mother!” She said as the door slid shut in front of her with a hiss. _God dammit, woman_. _Driving me out of my living space like that._ She chuckled to herself but kept walking until she reached the nearest control panel on the wall.

“Computer, what do people around here do for fun?”

“Please specify,” came an oddly warm female voice.

She thought for a moment, “Alright… I’m bored, where do the…residents usually go to let off some steam?” She felt a bit ridiculous.

“May I suggest Ten Forw—”

“Someplace other than Ten Forward, please. Find me somewhere where I can actually do things.”

“Holodeck 3 is currently not in use. Please follow the lighted path on the screen.”

A holodeck! Now there’s something she could do. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier? She followed the lighted path on the wall as per instructions, which lead her into a turbolift that took her six decks up.

She approached the large metal door and paused. The panel next to it was alight. Walking over to it, she pressed the most obvious-looking green button she saw.

“Holodeck is currently in use.”

“But you told me it wasn’t, like 3 minutes ago!” she argued with the machine.

“Holodeck is currently in use as of 102 seconds ago,” elaborated the computer.

“Well thanks a lot,” she muttered. Not wanting to give up so easily, she asked, “Who’s in there?”

“Lieutenant Commander Data is using the program.” She froze.

Okay, there were two ways to go about this situation. The first, walking back to her quarters like a normal person would. The second, to take a look inside and see the commander for herself. Because she was a naturally curious person with a severe lack of self-control, she opted for the second way. After all, she could just say that she didn’t check whether there was anybody was in there.

“Open,” she commanded.

The door revealed… a scenery that she was not quite expecting. It was a lusciously green, Terran-looking forest. There was a warm breeze, fresh air, and even a _babbling brook_ for fuck’s sake. As soon as she walked inside, or rather outside, the door behind her disappeared. Peering around, she looked for anything that would resemble a humanoid. Was he even a humanoid? She doubted sitting in that chair on the bridge would be quite as comfortable if he wasn’t. Approaching the river, she started hopping from stone to stone to reach its other side.

Then she heard it: a soft whistling sound emanating from somewhere in front of her to the right. Climbing up the steeper drop, she wondered whether the program would let her fall to her imminent death if she accidentally let go.

The whistling seemed to be closer then, and she began to recognize the tune…

“Pop goes the weasel?” she incredulously asked no one in particular.

The whistling stopped, and some leaves rustles above her head. Then, out of nowhere, the owner of the sounds dropped down from the tree…

 

…and landed square on his feet. A pair of unnaturally golden-yellow eyes greeted her, matched with a fainter shade of a golden body. Clad in command yellow overalls with two and a half pips visible on his collar. _Shit_.

“You recognize the tune?” he asked, blinking at her.

“I’m sorry, sir I didn’t mean to intrude on your— Did you just ask me whether I know this song?” This time she blinked at him, confused. Then she remembered something. “Also, that drop was at least 3 meters high. How the hell do you not have at _least_ a sprained ankle? Sir,” she added hastily.

“It is quite remarkable how humans produce that sound with such ease,” he said, mostly to himself.

“Can your species not whistle?” From what she’s heard before their encounter, he wasn’t entirely bad. Other than not quite hitting all the notes.

“I do not know whether my species would theoretically be able to perform this task, as I do belong to any. I am an android.”

“That explains the jump then.”

He watched her and smiled. “Yes, I believe it does.”

He was an android? She had never heard of an android that could be this… human, in every aspect. Physically as well as in behaviour. Becoming aware of his gaze, she grew hyperaware of her surroundings. He seemed to tower over her, which is not surprising considering her staggering height of 164 centimeters. He seemed to be around 180 centimeters and had quite broad shoulders, accentuated by his uniform.

“May I ask the purpose of your presence here?” _Shit, I almost forgot._

“Well, you see, I’m new, and I didn’t check if the holodeck was taken or not, so I just sort of… came in,” she finished lamely. He was never going to buy that.

“That is very unlikely, seeing as the computer informs aspiring users whether the holodeck is currently in use by default,” he informed her, amused. He didn’t seem angry, just genuinely curious. _Ah, screw it_.

“I was bored, so I asked the computer what people around here do for fun, and it led me here after saying it was open. Except by the time I got here, apparently you had started using it. I was curious about you because when I was on the bridge today people were talking about where you were and I thought your name was strange then in my room when I was looking over my class schedule I saw your name again and when I got here and the computer told me who it was occupied by, I just had to come and look. I guess I know why your name is Data now. Or at least it makes more sense.” She knew she babbled, but hey, shit happens.

He seemed to process the information for a few moments before turning his attention back to her. “In sum, you were curious about my identity due to my unfamiliar name and absence from the bridge.”

“Since you are new on this ship and presumably taking my class in astrophysics, as that is the sole class that I teach, you must be Kayla Peyton, Lieutenant Peyton’s daughter,” he continued, not waiting for a response.

“Yup, that would be little old me. Great deduction skills, by the way.” She cringed as soon as that last sentence exited her mouth.

“Thank you. I take great interest in this set of skills of the fictitious character Sherlock Holmes. In fact, the holodeck program includes a role-playing exercise in which one may select any of the Holmes mysteries, or ask the computer to generate an original story line.” _At least I’m not the only one around that babbles_ , she grinned inwardly. She was beginning to develop a soft spot for that nerdy android.

“That’s awesome, I love Sherlock. Although I’m mostly familiar with the English holo—I mean, television show from the early 21st century.”

“Accessing,” he said, his eyes darting back and forth. “Ah, yes. The television program that began in the earth year 2010, and received glowing reviews from all over the world. It was, however, a source of great anger to many fans for its unusually long breaks between seasons.”

“That… was amazing. Do you just propel information out like that all the time?”

He nodded once, then frowned to himself. “It is strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“That you did not interrupt me before I was finished, as you put it ‘propelling information out’.”

“Why would I interrupt you?” she asked, surprised. He was wonderful, _why would_ anybody _interrupt him?_

“According to testimonials by many of the crew, I tend to ‘babble’.”

She felt for the man. “And they told you that’s a bad thing?” Kayla asked as she put a hand on his arm. It felt… like a normal arm. A bit colder than she was used to, but it felt like flesh all right. Not at all what she had expected for an android.

She removed her hand after a quick pat. He glanced up into her eyes with slightly widened eyes, presumably in surprise at the statement. “I simply assumed… that… is an interesting perspective that has not occurred to me.”

She smiled.

“I am afraid I must leave now. I am due to in the laboratory to review a science project for Ensign Wesley Crusher. You may have use of the holodeck.”

“Alright… have fun?” I offered. _‘Have fun’? That’s great, Kay. Fucking doofus._

“I am incapable of that emotion.” She doubted that. “We will see each other in class on Tuesday. Goodbye!” And with that, he promptly walked away, only pausing at times to look at the flora.

It was hard to believe that he was an android. He had a very human quality about him. It was sort of a keen and pure interest in simple things. In any case, he seems like quite a character. She smiled again. “An android that stops to stare at flowers. Amazing.” She ambled around the deck until she located the control panel.

“Computer, please show me the available programs for the cases of Sherlock Holmes.”


	3. The Rest of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sort of a filler chapter; introduction of OCs necessary

The next morning, Kayla slept in later than usual. If they had been back at home, her mother would’ve killed her for waking up at— _oh god, 11:04 AM_ —but what she doesn’t know now won’t kill her. Or kill Kayla. It wasn’t her fault, technically, as it is a little known fact that in an average teenager’s body, the ‘sleep’ hormone doesn’t start producing until 11 PM, and the ‘wake up’ hormone doesn’t either until 11 AM.

This fact won’t help her, though, because she felt like she’d lost half her day already.

Dragging herself halfway out of bed, she reached for her PADD. She scrolled through the daily memos for a bit before finally sauntering over to the bathroom. Taking a look in the mirror, she sighed and investigated damage. Her reddish-brown hair was sitting in a forgotten clump on her head, initially meant to be a bun.

Though she had significantly clearer skin than most people her age, it was still blotchy and uneven in some areas. She let her hair out and brushed it to the best of her abilities, then took out her makeup kit.

She has always enjoyed the idea of makeup. Though she generally didn’t experiment with colors, or even eyeshadow, she always slipped on some foundation, mascara, and slightly winged eyeliner she left the house. It gave her a false sense of security and confidence.

When everything was finished and she slipped on some civilian clothes, dark blue jeans and a nicer t-shirt, she headed out to meet Wesley. He agreed to show Kayla around a bit more and introduce her to the rest of the kids our age onboard.

 

Upon her arrival at Ten Forward, she noticed that the rest of them… weren’t all that many. There was a grand total of three kids crowded around a single table, dressed in civilian clothing, talking and laughing.

She glanced at Wesley. “Is this all of us?”

“Well, there’s about 12 more children scattered around the ship, but we’re the only ones above the age of fifteen,” he said. We walked up to the table.

“Hey guys. This is Kayla, the new one,” Wesley introduced her with a smile. The others greeted her, two girls and one boy. One of the girls whom Kayla later identified as Maria was pretty tall with short-cropped blonde hair. The other girl, Rosalyn, was an adorably short half-human half-betazoid with dark brown hair held together in a loose braid. The boy looked to be around eighteen years old with pale green eyes and dark, slightly bushy hair.

“I’m Rekku,” he introduced himself, smiling modestly.

Kayla was afraid that the conversation would turn awkward, feeling like she was imposing on their already well-established friendships. Fortunately, however, the rest of them didn’t hesitate to ask her a myriad of questions, so all she had to do was respond.

She learned that Rosalyn and Maria had been friends on another Earth colony and were briefly separated for a year until they both ended up on the Enterprise. Rekku was quiet, laid back, and very nice. He seemed slightly awkward around people, but she connected with him, as she was exactly same around new people. She wasn’t sure whether or not that’s true, but he was giving off a certain ‘I have no idea how to participate in this conversation’ vibe. Kayla hoped he’d open up to her later.

After about an hour and a half of pleasant chatter and even a few laughs, Wesley and the girls announced that they have class in a few minutes. They all stood up to escort them out.

As the trio bid goodbye, Rekku and her stayed behind in the corridor and watched them leave. He had a strange expression on his face that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. As it turns out, she needn’t have worried because as soon as the others rounded the corner, he turned to her full bodily, and leaned against the wall.

He sighed, looking as if he was considering telling her something. “Look, I know we don’t know each other very well, having met literally two hours ago, but I just want you to know that when we do get to know each other better, I’m gonna ask you something.” _Shit_. He’s cute, he really was, and under normal circumstances she’d be mentally all over him… but she was just not feeling it. She hoped his mysterious request wasn’t what she thought. She didn’t want to deal with this on her second day. _It’s probably not even what I think it is. I mean, he’s gorgeous. Besides, he even said that we ‘don’t exactly know each other’._ She relaxed at the thought.

Reluctantly, she nodded her head. “Yeah, sure. Alright.”

“Thanks, you’re awesome,” he smiled. “I really hope I didn’t creep you out or anything.”

“Not as of yet, you didn’t,” she chuckled, patting him on the shoulder.

He laughed too and all the previous discomfort dissipated.

“Yeah, that’s probably coming soon, though—“

“Don’t even. You haven’t seen me at worst. Or even at the second worst. Or third… well, you get the idea.” _Babbling. Always babbling_.

“I believe that,” he teased. “But listen, I have to go now. I have a calculus exam in three hours, and actually opening the textbook might prove beneficial.”

“Yeah, you go do that, Rekku,” she grinned.

“See you later,” he waved as he hurried to the turbolift. _He’s a really nice guy,_ she thought. _Maybe I totally misinterpreted his earlier question… I’d hate to make things between us awkward._

Hold on… maybe he wanted to ask her to befriend one of the girls and find out whether she likes him. She bet it was Rosalyn. At least she really hoped it was, as opposed to herself.

She felt her shoulders relax as she started walking down the corridor.

 

“I would love to see the bridge again,” she hinted at Wesley in the labs a few hours later.

“You know I’d love to take you there, Kayla, but I’m simply not allowed to,” he replied, not facing her. He was working on his science project when she’d dropped by to pay him a visit.

“But whyyy,” she whined. “It’s just so… so beautiful up there. I love that atmosphere.” She wanted that atmosphere.

“So do I.”

“Yes, but you actually get to serve there, you lucky bastard.”

He tensed minutely at her swearing. She didn’t think he was used to that. In fact, in 48 whole hours she hasn’t heard a single swear word that didn’t come from her own mouth. Maybe it was just different around there than it was on Tarnera VI.

“I’m sure you could be there someday if you work really hard for it,” he said, bending over the counter staring intently into a microscope.

“That’s the thing though… I don’t think my brain is wired for the subjects that are needed to become a bridge officer.”

“Don’t say that. Anything’s possible if you really put your mind to it!”

“Oh, cut the crap. That is the most generic piece of not-advice advice you could possibly give me.”  
“Doesn’t mean that it’s not true.”

“I think it is in my case. I know, I know, what would make me so different that I wouldn’t be able to learn the necessary things? I don’t think I’m different or special any more than the next person; it’s just that these subjects and that stuff about propulsion just don’t seem to want to stick in my head. You know what I mean?” she crumpled onto the nearest chair in a sorrowful heap.

“Well… not really, no. I’ve always had to study hard, but I never seemed to have the problem that you just described.”  
She sighed. “Of course not. You’re a child prodigy, an ensign at sixteen for fuck’s sake!”

He offered an apologetic smile and turned back to his experiment.

There were a few moments of silence. There was no animosity to it, just a lull in the conversation.

“I really wish I would’ve gotten the chance to ask Data about this,” Wesley mumbled to himself.

Kayla perked a little up at the mention of the intriguing commander’s name. She couldn’t help herself. He was just so… fascinating. Maybe she found him so interesting because he’s an android… but there was definitely a whole lot more to him. Going for a casual demeanor, she decided to prod Wesley about him a little.

“I thought he came in to talk to you about this yesterday. At least that’s what he told me… when we talked…” she trailed off.

Wesley turned to her, surprised. “You’ve met Commander Data?”

“Yeah, yesterday I—accidentally—barged in on his holodeck program,” she explained. “He was whistling Pop Goes The Weasel in a tree… it was kinda surreal, actually. He seems nice though.”

He laughed, “Yeah, he does that sometimes.” He frowned. “But how did you accidentally interrupt someone’s program? The computer tells you if the deck is occupied.”

She shifted in her seat. “I may have not-unintentionally gone in to see him for myself. I mean, I didn’t follow him there or anything it’s just that when I saw who the holodeck was occupied _by_ , I was interested.”

He looked slightly confused. “Couldn’t you have just waited until tomorrow? We have astrophysics with him in the morning.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just that when we were up on the bridge and you mentioned him, I wondered who the hell would have a name like ‘Data’, you know? And then his name kept popping up everywhere for the rest of the day, so… so I guess curiosity just got the best of me.”

“Now that you say it like that, I guess I’d be curious about a person called Data as well.”

“See? I wasn’t being a huge creep after all,” she sat back, arms folded across her chest.

“I guess not,” he chuckled and turned back to his experiment. Kayla still had a lot of questions about the Commander, but decided to save them for later, letting the boy focus on his project.

 

Later that night, she asked her mother what she knew about the peculiar android, but she said she hasn’t met him yet. She fell asleep with questions floating around in her head.


	4. Debate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla and Data (hey, that rhymes) have a debate of the friendly sort. Curiosities are mentioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so far, it's only listed as 'mature' because of language. BUT I promise some... situations... coming up very soon. and then smut, of course. keep reading I swear I'm not one of those 'rated M for language' people who cut to black ;)

Chapter 4

 

“SHUT UP, YOU _ABSOLUTE_ PIECE OF _SHIT_.” The damn alarm clock had been ringing like this for the past three minutes and she couldn’t seem to be able to find it under her numerous heaps of yet-to-be-packed-away clothes.

“LANGUAGE!” She heard her mom yell from the other room.

Finally locating the beeping spawn of devil, she informed her mother that she doesn’t have the time, energy, or adequate caffeine levels in her body to focus on such elementary tasks. Her rebuttal mostly consisted of various grunts as she tried to drag herself out of bed.

Speedily replicating herself a bagel and small cup of coffee, Kayla dashed out the door.

Now she just had to find the room the class would take place in. Finding the nearest console, she slowed to a stop.

“Computer, please show me the location of Lieutenant Commander Data.”  
“There is no need for that,” came voice from behind her. She whirled around, causing her to almost drop her savior. _I mean, bagel._

“Commander Data!” she exclaimed.

“You appear to be surprised to see me,” he cocked his head to the side. “And please, call me Data.”

“To be honest I thought you’d already be in the classroom. That’s why I asked for your location… so I could find my way there. Data.”

“Why would I already be in the designated room? The lesson will not start for another 56 minutes.”

_Wait, what?_ She checked her chronometer and… _well, shit._

“I… I seemed to have set my alarm an hour too early,” she said sheepishly.

“Would you care to walk with me? I was on my way to the classroom earlier to prepare.”

She straightened up, trying to look professional. “Sure! At least this way I won’t have to stumble around the ship trying to find the right room.”

“Indeed you will not.”

They walked in silence for a few moments until he frowned in confusion. “I recall you saying ‘please’ to the computer system earlier. Why?” That was an odd question.

“To be honest I never noticed I did that. But now that I think about it, I’d have to say that I do it either out of habit, or simply because we rely on it so much every day that a little common courtesy wouldn’t hurt. It’s kind of like when I was a child. I thought all of my stuffed animal had feelings, so I always tried to treat it like I would a ‘real’ person.”

He thought for a moment, eyes darting back and forth. “Interesting. It is a common sentiment among human children?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Intriguing.”

She laughed. “I guess you would think that, Data. As I said before, I don’t think many of us really gave it a thought.”

“I supposed not many of you do,” he agreed.

They both went silent again until reaching the turbolift.

“After you.”

“Ah! Chivalry isn’t dead after all,” she cried out in a fake English accent as she placed the back of her hand against her forehead. Data looked a bit taken aback, which had her worried that she’s overstepped some line of appropriateness in front of an officer. “Although I assume you just had it programmed into your brain circuits already, or however that works,” she tried, putting hand back where it came from.

“Actually, while I do have circuitry, I have a positronic brain as opposed to ‘brain circuits’.”

“I’ll pretend to know what that is.”

Before she could stop him and tell him that she probably wouldn’t understand his explanation anyway, he launched right into it.

“After decades of research and a disastrous first attempt, Doctor Noonian Soong developed an extremely sophisticated computation device capable of artificial intelligence. The device consists of an artificial neural network, designed to imitate the humanoid brain. The construction of a positronic brain was extremely complex, and Dr. Soong, my father, was the only scientist to have done so successfully.”

“That… was actually pretty straightforward,” she said, impressed. And she found it sweet how he referred to his creator as his father. “You know, I actually keep forgetting that you’re an android.”

Data glanced at her with a tentative and confused smile. “Really?”

“Definitely,” she looked at him firmly. “Is that really so hard to believe?”

“How come you often forget that?” he asked, not answering her question.

She shrugged. “I’m not sure… you just have this _quality_ about you. You try new things, show emotions… you also seem to have an almost child-like fascination with the simplest things. If it weren’t for your constant exactitude and frankly severe lack of contractions, I would’ve pegged you as a human. Well, except for the whole ‘being gold’ thing,” she teased.

His smile transformed from adorably confused to one that looked like he was very pleased with himself.

“We have arrived.” They entered the room. Evidently, the ‘classroom’ was just an unoccupied Starfleet conference room. Seeing as nobody will arrive for the next 40 minutes, Kayla chose a spot without hesitation and sat down.

Data was sorting through his various notes in preparation for the class.

“Data?”

“Yes?” he asked with the same tone she was using.

“I hope you won’t take this as rude, but do you have emotions?” She was really curious about that after seeing him react to some of the things she had said.

“I do not.”

_Interesting_. “But then how come you smiled when I told you how human I thought you are?”

“I was… pleased to hear you say those things.”

“Pleased? Doesn’t being pleased by something usually involve emotions?” she pressed further.

“I would have to say that under usual circumstances, it would indeed involve emotions. However, I do not believe that my being pleased stemmed from emotions as much as it is an automatic response to being complimented.”

She thought for a moment. “I didn’t necessarily say anything nice to you, only that you seem more human than I imagined an android would. Does that mean that you take human comparisons to yourself as positive things, such as compliments? Which in turn begs the question that if you truly do not posses any emotions as you claim that you don’t, then why do you attribute positive connotations to a trait that isn’t explicitly positive? If I were to call a Romulan human-like, he would definitely not take it as a compliment. Seeing that I live long enough to see his reaction.”

He stopped shuffling through his notes, his eyes slowly shifting up to meet hers. He was clearly shocked by her sudden influx of questions. Feeling like she’s made her point, Kayla crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair and looked at him expectantly.

“I… I do not know the answers to those questions. I suppose you do have a point.”  
“Emotions are a strange thing. Maybe you do experience them sometimes, and just can’t identify them as such.”

He nodded. After a few moments of silence, he looked up at her again with a yet another confused expression.

“Your parlance changed drastically during your questioning. For what reason?”

“I went into debate mode, I guess. I feel like it is appropriate to convey important ideas through the use of correct expression and terminology,” I grinned.

“Ah,” he let out.

“See? That’s another thing that you do. ‘Ah’. I doubt anybody who’s solely machinery would see the necessity in making that random noise when they understand something.”

“You bring up very good points, Miss Peyton,” he concurred. She scrunched up her nose. “Ugh, please refrain from calling me that. It makes me feel like I’m in elementary school again.”

“My apologies. Kayla it is,” he turned away and continued his preparations.

She watched him work for a few minutes before occupying herself with her PADD. In twenty-five minutes, they began her first Advanced Astrophysics class.

 

After it ended, Kayla was gathering her things while chatting away with Maria. Before leaving, she looked back and waved goodbye to Data. He returned the wave with a small smile.

As she started heading her way, someone took ahold of her arm and stopped her. It was Rekku.

“Hey, Rek. What’s up?”

He shrugged. “Nothing, really… I guess I just wanted to ask about your deal with Commander Data.”

“My deal?”  
“Yeah,” they started walking together. “You guys were having all these strange back-and-forth exchanges, like some sort of inside joke.” To be honest, she had no idea what he was talking about. She may have referenced their earlier conversation once, maybe twice, but made sure that she did not to mention it too much.

“I don’t really know what you mean. I think you may have been imagining things, dude.”

“Fine, then how about the fact that you’re the only he calls by first name? He even calls Wes ‘Mr. Crusher’, and they _work_ together.”

“Okay, you’re acting kinda weird, Rek. Not that it’s any of your business, but I accidentally woke up an hour earlier than I was supposed to and met him on my way here and we walked together. During our conversation, he called me ‘Miss Peyton’ and I asked him to just call me Kayla. So he did.” She stopped walking and looked at him. “Why are you asking me all these questions, anyway?”

He looked down, looking slightly ashamed. “I’m sorry, I came off sounding like a possessive boyfriend. I just found it a bit strange how you guys were all chummy, and I’ve been trying to get him to open up a little with me.”

Kayla frowned. “Why wouldn’t he be open with you?”

“It’s not that he’s not friendly, I just wanted to get to him a bit better. He seems like such an interesting guy, you know?”

She chuckled, “Yeah, I know. It’s all good, I’m sure you were just a little frustrated. I talked with him yesterday, too, though. In the holodeck.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “What? Why?”

“I was curious about him, too.”


	5. Rendezvous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that 1) sorry for the late update, I forgot about my ao3 account for a while 2) from now on I will be updating this fic on mondays
> 
> enjoy!

It’s been two weeks on this ship, and she was already swamped with all the shit that needed doing. Classes were way harder here than they had been on Tarnera VI, and she was dying a slow, agonizing death.

She hasn’t spoken with Data much outside of class. Apparently, the ship was on a mission that needed to be handled very delicately so that we don’t end up blown out of orbit. Marvelous.

On the bright side, she did get to spend more time with her new friends, most of all with Rekku. Nearly all of her doubts about the nature of his affection for her were gone, and she was growing more and more certain that Rosalyn was the real object of his desires.

She spied him sitting at the bar at Ten Forward and decided to shed some light on the matter.

“Soooo,” she slid up next to him, resting her face in her hand. “What have _you_ been up to lately?”

“Um… we literally talked like two hours ago, Kay. Not much since then that’s worth mentioning.”

Edging a bit closer, she pressed forward. “Really? Nothing interesting? No _one_ interesting?”

Finally noticing where the conversation was headed, he folded into himself, avoiding eye contact. Well, that confirmed it. There definitely was someone.

She clapped her hands, “I knew it! I knew the first time we talked, and I _definitely_ know it now,” she beamed.

He shuffled a little away from her, clutching his drink like a saving grace. “Look, I really don’t want to talk about this right now. Or ever.”

“Come on, Rek. I consider us friends, and friends share things with each other, riiight?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, okay, you got me. I happen to have a teeny tiny, miniscule, all-consuming crush on someone. There, I said it. Happy?”

“Ecstatic!” she exclaimed, swatting at his shoulder. “So who is it?”

“I have no further comments on the matter.” Her face fell.

“Don’t do this to me man, we’ve gotten this far! You can’t just leave me hanging like that.”

“Oh, yes I can. And I will. I’m not saying anything more until I have at least some shred of evidence that something could happen. Which it can’t, because come on.”

“What is his I’m hearing? Low levels of self-confidence?” she grabbed his face and angled it towards hers. “Have you _seen_ yourself, Rekku? You’re fucking gorgeous. And I’m not even saying that to make you feel better. Oh, no. That whole, tall, dark, light-green eyed thing you’ve got going over there is ridiculous.”

Rekku stared at her, bewildered. “Are you serious?”

“Like a Romulan attack in federation territory. The first time I saw you, I was quite taken aback.

“Dude, you should see the idiotic grin on your face right now.”

He blushed, then downcast his eyes again. “Still… there doesn’t seem to be any interest on their part.”

She pursed her lips and tried to craft a viable plan of attack. “Tell you what. I’ll try to set up a little rendezvous between you two, all right? Oh, don’t give me that look I’ll make it sound perfectly innocent. Not at all worthy of that face of complete terror.”

“I’m not too sure about this, Kay.”

“Don’t you worry your little butt. I’ll figure something out and have you two meet here sometime this week. Sound good?”

He agreed. Begrudgingly, but agreed nevertheless.

She ordered herself some of that Rudavian fruit juice, and they sat in companionable silence.

“What about you?” he asked suddenly.

“Mmm?” she sipped. “What about me?”

“Do you have your eye on someone?”

Out of the blue, Data’s pleased smile popped into her head. _God, that goof_. Pushing the image out of her mind, she shook her head.

“Not really, no.” She wasn’t lying. The most interest-piquing person she’s met so far was _Data_. “Although I haven’t had a lot of time to survey this place with all the schoolwork they’ve been dumping on us,” she added bitterly.

“True.”

The conversation slowly dwindled as both of their minds drifted off to the current affairs. How could she get Rosalyn down here for a blind date? It isn’t easy to set up an anonymous date when she could count all their members on one hand. Maybe it would be enough to get her here alone and see what unfolds between them. She was never going to tell her how Rekku feels about her, because that’s his job after all. _Good for them. They’d make a really cute couple._

She excused herself and headed back to her quarters. It was getting late and she still had about three essays to write. Sublime.

\---

“I am a _failure_ ,” she moaned facedown into the conference room table.

“You are not a failure, Kayla,” Data said firmly.

“We’ve been at this for _hours_. I just don’t get it, Data.” She was crushed. “Could we go over quantum mechanics again? I understand the philosophical implications, but the mathematical formulations just…” she shook her head in defeat.

“I do not think that would be a wise course of action. Multiple studies have shown that the act of ‘over-studying’ could prove counter-productive.”

“But how am I supposed to understand it better if I _don’t_ study it until it finally stick in my head?”

Instead of replying, Data started packing away his things and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I believe I have an idea that could prove beneficial. Follow me please.”

Quickly gathering her notes, Kayla followed him, mystified.

He led her to the nearest room with a replicator and began entering information. Thoroughly confused, Kayla set down her things and leaned against a table.

“What are you doing?”

“I am replicating garments appropriate for a 19th century setting.”

“…Why.”

“You shall see in approximately 6.27 minutes,” he said with an enigmatic twinkle in his eye.

 

Approximately 6.27 minutes later, they arrived at holodeck 3. Kayla turned to her evasive companion looking completely perplexed.

“Why are we here? And can I finally see those ‘garments’?”

Ignoring her, Data padded over to the controls.

“Computer, resume program ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. Stand by for further instructions.” He turned to a dumbfounded Kayla, “Ready?”

She gaped at him, trying to formulate a coherent string of words. “Are we seriously going to cosplay Holmes and Watson?” she asked incredulously.

“By ‘cosplay’ I assume you are referring to costume play. And you are correct. However, there is a purpose to this exercise.” He turned back to the console. I watched as he raised a pale, slender finger and entered some coordinates.

“Reset program parameters: create a Holmesian case which revolves around the Federation curriculum of astrophysics. Set subcategory ‘mathematical formulations’,” he glanced back at her, not turning his body. “Thank you.”

She grinned at his reference and grabbed one of the sets of clothes he was carrying, flinging it over her shoulder.

“Program complete. Enter when ready.”

“So,” she took ahold of her friend’s arm. “Ready, Mr. Holmes?”

Slipping the ancient-looking pipe between his lips, he nodded once. “I believe that I am. Shall we?”

“We shall,” she declared as she marched past him and through the gates of the holodeck. Data looked at her retreating form, enjoying her enthusiasm for the activity. He went in after her.

 

Data’s educational cosplay idea proved to be a success. Kayla had a knack for picking up new things when she had the opportunity to them herself. Her understanding of the subject increased exponentially, so the pair made a habit of continuing it as additional tutoring. It was unsaid between them after passing the point of Kayla debating the subject with Wesley _and winning_ , they continued their sessions purely for fun. They enjoyed each other’s company, and they turned out to be quite an exceptional crime-fighting duo.

A few others, however, grew wary of their thriving friendship, and did not keep it a secret. Namely, Rekku.

 

“So, you’re spending quite a lot of time with Commander Data. Our professor. Not to mention a valued member of the _bridge crew_ ,” he remarked one day when they were hanging out in Ten Forward. Kayla nearly threw up her hands in frustration. They’ve been over this. Multiple times, actually. Deciding she won’t let herself be baited this time, she feigned confusion.

“What does him being our teacher and a bridge officer have to do with anything?”

Rekku leaned closer and lowered his voice. “You know exactly what it has to do with it. I understand the… allure. I really do. But I’m worried about you, Kay.”

Not wanting to reopen an overdone conversation, she initiated Plan B: diversion, operationalized through razor-sharp wit and humor.

She sighed dramatically. “Damn, you caught me. Data and I have been together for weeks. The first time I saw him, I knew that he was the android I wanted to spend my life with,” she leaned in with a stage whisper. “In fact,” she looked over both her shoulders, “We’ve been fucking in the holodeck since day one.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. There’s nothing going on,” Rekku surrendered with his hands in the air. “But still, I think I have a point here.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what.”

“Like the fact that you’ve forgotten completely about setting my little… appointment.” She slapped her forehead in revelation.

“Shit! I totally did! I’m really sorry, man. I guess I’ve just been really busy lately, with all the schoolwork and tutoring sessions… I’ll get it done. Soon. I promise.” She paused.

“Why are you so convinced that there’s something there with Data and I, anyway?”

“I can sense it.” She threw her head back in laughter, “That is the worst reasoning I’ve ever heard. Really though, how come?”

“I wasn’t kidding. I’m a quarter Betazoid, remember?”

Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, what? No, I don’t remember, because you somehow _conveniently_ forgot to mention that little detail to me.”

He shrugged. “It just never came up.”

“But _still_. I at least want to know if someone has the distinct ability to gauge my feelings, or however that even works.”

“Not like that, I can tell you that much, “ he paused, a mischievous smile stretching across his face. “Gauging something implies that I can turn it on and off.”

She swatted at his arm. “You dick.”

“You know you love me. Oh wait, _I_ know you love me. _I can sense it_ ,” he threw his head back in laughter. No joke. Actually threw his head back and laughed.

“God, you’re such a loser,” she said, pretending to be upset. “But yeah, don’t worry about your little set up,” she winked. “Just leave all to the love master.”

“You’re single.”

“That is not of import, my friend.”  
“Of course not.”

“I must go now. My people need me,” she stood up, determination flashing in her blue-green eyes. “I’m just kidding. By ‘people’ I meant you. I’m gonna go do something about that little, teeny-tiny, all consuming crush of yours,” she winked back. “Get ready to be love-experted. And yes, that is totally a word. Write it down.” With that, she swung around on her heels and left Ten Forward.

Rekku just shook his head as he watched her go. _That woman is insufferable,_ he thought with a smile.


	6. Experiment of a Lifetime

After arriving at her quarters a little after noon, Kayla sent a message to Data that that day’s study session has to be cancelled, and asked to reschedule. She decided to hop in the shower and wash her hair before she headed down to find Rosalyn and set up ‘the appointment’, as Rekku as so eloquently put it. She needed time to figure how exactly to get her to Ten Forward alone without getting suspicious, and what better place was there to do so than in the shower?

She washed, conditioned, rinsed, and repeated before she came up with a reasonable plan. She was just mulling over the details, drying her hair with a towel. _Where the hell is my other towel?_ she thought absently. She groaned internally, still roaming around her quarters stark naked. _Mom must’ve taken the other one… again. Why the hell does she need three towels anyway?_ She dropped the soaked piece of cloth onto her bed, vowing to put it away later. She trudged over to her desk on the far side of the room and picked up her PADD.

 

_-Message to Lieutenant Commander Data failed to send-_

Just as she clicked ‘Retry’, the door swished open behind her to reveal none other than Data, looking as composed as ever—that is, until he registered the scene unfolding in front of him. She screamed and dove for her towel, which was still conveniently situated on the other side of the room. Covering up all the necessary areas, it suddenly seemed ridiculously short. The towel obviously meant for hands and hair just barely covered her ass.

“Data! What the _hell_ are you doing here?!” Kayla demanded despite having an idea of the reason.

“Excuse my intrusion,” he said, politely averting his eyes. “You were not present for our tutoring session. I deemed it prudent to check whether you were all right.”

“Yeah, uh, I just checked and it said that my message telling you I can’t make it didn’t go through,” she stammered, blood rushing to her face. She was in the same room as Data, _naked._

“That is unfortunate,” he locked eyes with her. _At least I don’t have to remind him where my eyes are_. He stepped closer. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. I am aware that most humans, especially females, do not wish for their bodies to be beheld without the appropriate form of clothing. You need not be concerned, however. The incident will remain between the two of us,” he smiled cheerfully. “Furthermore, if it is of assistance, your body is well-proportioned and likely to be considered as the attractive norm.”

_Dear lord in the heavens above_. Kayla found herself willing to pay _money_ to get a grasp on what the hell was happening.

“Uh,” she said intelligently. “Thanks.” He nodded once in acknowledgement. _God this is so weird._ Data was still staring intently into her eyes. Wait, no… _at_ her eyes. _Is he trying not to check me out?_ she wondered. If she didn’t know any better, she’d assume he was trying to avoid letting his eyes roam by locking his eyes on a safe place, ergo, her face. But she did know better. She knew it was impossible… he may have at least some emotions that he didn’t know about, but she doubted physical attraction was programed into that wonderfully smart positronic brain of his.

_Positronic brain?_ She remembered him saying once that he automatically committed every fact and detail of his life to memory. That means that even if had only seen her body for half a millisecond, he had a pretty damn clear image of it, there for recollection at a moment’s notice. She also remember him saying that he could delete any unwanted memory as well.

Except… she found herself not wanting to ask him to do that. All at once, she registered how her long, reddish-brown, now wet hair cascaded down her back, her skin gleaming with residual moisture from the steam in the bathroom, and how short the towel really was. Her long, toned legs were hardly covered at all, and the rest of the drenched material clung to her in quite a flattering way.

It was out of curiosity, mostly, why she did what she did. She was always awful at any science subject they had at school, but she did like to conduct experiments from time to time. She slowly slunk closer to the android, whose stare intensified in determination with each step she took. She continued until she was directly in Data’s personal space, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

“I’m really sorry about missing the class, Data,” she said with an innocent voice, though her expression suggested something else entirely. She put a finger on her chin, as if in thought. “And you know, coming to check whether I’m okay was really sweet of you.” She leaned in closer, her face only mere inches from his. “But I can assure you; everything is just _fine_ ,” she purred, drawing out the ‘f’. She knew it was a cheap shot, but she continued anyway on the basis that Data probably hasn’t been in these types of situations a lot. She turned away from him a single fluid motion, intentionally brushing against him as she did so.

She glanced back at him over her shoulders. Her heart was thudding in her chest as she contemplated how far she could, or rather should, take this. She figured pushing a little more should prove to be interesting.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s wrong, Data?”

_Poor thing. He looks so out of place_ , she thought. He did not seem to be able to decide what to do with his hands.

“There is nothing ‘wrong’, per se, though I am sufficiently confused about your peculiar behaviour.”

“It’s alright to be curious, right?” Her eyes wandered around Data’s form from bottom to top.

“Indeed it is, yet I have not expressed any curiosity in this area.” She turned to him.

“I wasn’t talking about you, Data.” Then she dropped the towel. For the split second that it took for him to rein in his own curious nature, his eyes flitted around her exposed body. He then swiftly turned his back to Kayla, wanting to honor her privacy and calm his ethical circuits, which were running haywire. He has just seen the naked body of a minor.

“I do not understand your actions,” he admitted, not turning around.

She calmly walked over to where Data was frozen in place, placing both of her hands on his shoulders.

“Let’s just say that I’m running an experiment,” she purred in his left ear, then proceeded to turn him to face her.

“It would not be right of me to regard you whilst you are in the nude. Please clothe yourself,” he instructed, looking up at the ceiling. “I value our friendship greatly, and I do not wish to jeopardize it with such ‘experimenting’ on your part.”

She giggled. “Don’t worry, Data, I value our friendship, too. I don’t want to _do_ anything; I just really wanted to know how you would react in a situation like this,” she let go of his shoulders. “And if I didn’t know better, I would peg your not looking at me at all as a sign of attraction.”

“My ethical circuitry does not allow me to look at the nude body of a minor who is legally unable to consent to such actions. And while you would be deemed as a physically attractive individual, I myself am not capable of sexual attraction.”

She patted his cheek twice, snorting in amusement. “What did you think I was testing?”

He simply raised an eyebrow in response. Kayla walked back to where her towel was laying haphazardly on the floor and slipped it around her body again.

“And hey, you’re getting better at not answering rhetorical que—“ but he has already turned to leave.

 

\---

As soon as he left, she knew she fucked up. What had she been thinking, presenting herself _naked_ to not only her friend, but also her teacher _and_ a senior officer on a damn starship? Looking back, she had no idea how she had justified her course of action in her head. She wasn’t even sure what the hell compelled her to do it in the first place. Curiosity? Really? That is the single lamest excuse to _de-clothe_ in front of _Data._

She just really hoped, more than anything else, that this wouldn’t change anything between. He _has_ proven that seeing a naked girl doesn’t faze him, and everybody knew that his most persistent trait as an android was to remain impartial and objective in all manners of things. That thought calmed her raging nerves a little.

They’d rescheduled the next day, moving their session to the end of the week. But before that, they had a class together. This would be the first time since the incident that they’d be talking face to face. All she could do was hope for the best and counted on his android-ness to continue being… androidy.

She signed deeply. She mulled over the whole situation and its implications on her way to the classroom, analyzing, reanalyzing, and finally grossly overanalyzing it all.

By the time she reached the room, she was convinced that the world has ended.

“Shall we begin?” asked Data once everybody was settled. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding after seeing that he wasn’t looking at her like some sort of repulsive alien life form. However, that relief changed drastically once she realized that he wasn’t in fact looking at her at all.

She looked across the table to where Rekku was sitting, and sure enough, he was looking at her, questions filling his eyes. She shrugged, feigning ignorance. She’s made her bed, and now she’s going to lie in it.

 

Except that didn’t really work out in the end. She had a hard time simply accepting an unsatisfactory situation, and it had shown on her face. After class, she was determined to corner Data and apologize thoroughly and appropriately for her actions. But by the time she’s collected her things, Data had already exited the room.

Guilt was eating away at her. She’d ruined one of the most precious friendships she’s ever had over some psycho sexual experiment she conducted for no reason other than to satisfy her own twisted curiosity. What did she expect, anyway? She knew perfectly well that he wasn’t supposed to feel anything. He outright told her that he doesn’t feel sexual attraction. Although to her defense, he did mention that _after_ she’s dropped her towel.

No matter, they still had their tutoring holo-deck session in two days. Now she just had to decide whether to corner him and apologize or just pretend none of it ever happened.

 

Data was experiencing a profound sense of confusion. Initially, he had assumed that accidentally ‘taking a peek’ at Kayla’s exposed… state of being, was a natural reaction stemming from surprise and purely objective curiosity.

But, as he was incapable lying to himself for obvious reasons, he discovered that though he was indeed curious, that ‘feeling’ for the lack of a better word, came from an unknown source.

In his experience with Lieutenant Yar, the cause of the incident was clearly identifiable. But now? There was no alien virus causing the loss of rational thoughts and inhibitions. There wasn’t anything that would cause him to… _want_ to look down. Not to mention the fact that she was underage. And his friend. _And_ his student. Just thinking about it caused his ethical circuits to act up again. They were urging him to delete the file that contained the images of her.

Then something occurred to him. If the incident with Tasha was caused by the loss of inhibitions, by the virus affecting his judgment as alcohol would a human’s, does that indicate the possibility of initial attraction to her? It didn’t seem possible…

And yet.

His father programed him to be ‘fully functional’, with the knowledge of numerous ways of pleasuring. That function would be quite redundant without the ability to feel the emotions necessary for him to pursue such actions.

It was unlikely, however, that Dr. Soong added a completely unnecessary program, wasn’t it? Perhaps he wasn’t finished. Perhaps the Crystalline Entity came before the doctor could complete the final touches, and was forced to download all the information into him prematurely.

Perhaps he had corrected the discrepancies evident in Lore’s programing.

Perhaps he _was_ meant to feel…

But that doesn’t change the fact he did not.

However, it was possible that he had the potential to. With this new information, he reevaluated the events of the past two days. He found that in Kayla’s quarters, he felt… compelled. Compelled to do what, exactly, was beyond him. He found himself wanting to see the outcome of the situation.

For the first time in his life, Data felt utterly torn. On the one hand, he was a machine, capable of purely rational thought and evaluating situations based on logic only. On the other hand… similar to his yearning to become human, this newfound information had him yearning to explore it further.

But just as he could never become human, he could not pursue this course of action. Even if it were possible, it would be morally wrong. He has made the decision never to act upon these ‘feelings’, and to simply ignore them until they subsided.

Besides, Kayla herself had said that it was merely an experiment. There was no indication whether she, in theory, had any thought of a sexual nature during that time. For an unknown reason, that thought stirred a negative feeling in his chest.


	7. Dilemma

His lips sealed hers with a force that had her head spinning. Her legs where wrapped around his waist, and they were stumbling fast into the nearest wall. Before she knew it, her back was pressed against the hard surface and her front was pressed against a firm, toned body. She grabbed at his face, sliding her other hand up the back of his neck and into his hair. He licked her lips as a request for entry and she more than happily complied. He did something with his tongue that had Kayla moaning into his open mouth.

She pulled back slightly, gasping for air. Their foreheads touched as she was trying to get her breath back. Impatient, Data slid his face down to her neck and began kissing and sucking in a way that made her toes curl, pulling him in closer. She had no escape from between Data and the wall, and she had no intention of doing so.

Abruptly stopping the ungodly motions of his tongue, he snaked his arms around her waist and turned them both around. The fact they’ve moved at all only registered to Kayla when she was suddenly dumped onto the bed, feeling the cold absence of a body for the split second it took for him to envelope her again.

He leaned in to kiss her again, running his tongue over her teeth and the roof of her mouth, causing her to moan once more. All too soon, he stopped and moved his head back to the crook of her neck, resuming his earlier torture. While he was doing so, his left hand moved down to stroke her thigh.

She grew impatient, letting him know by pushing on his shoulders and swiftly flipping them over. She knew he had let her do it, but was satisfied to know that he was nevertheless taken aback by her bold move.

Kayla straddled him and leaned over his face, encasing them in a curtain of wavy dark hair. She looked into his eyes for a brief moment before crashing her mouth down on his, simultaneously grinding onto his lap. A low groan escaped his lips that made Kayla’s blood boil with need.

She kept grinding down, harder and faster, creating some much-needed friction. She rolled her hips forward, gasping at the sensation.

She reached down in between them, her hands searching. They found what they were looking for; she palmed his erection as she herself started getting warmer and wetter.

The motion had Data cry out in pleasure.

“Kayla,” he breathed. He grabbed her hand suddenly and flipped them both over once more. He reached down to the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. He pressed kisses into her neck, her collarbone, her breasts, and her stomach, working his way down while unbuttoning her pants.

The anticipation was almost unbearable. Her lips were swollen red, cheeks colored, and she was panting.

He finally managed to get them off, hastily throwing them aside.

The moment she felt his hot breath ghost over the surface of her panties, she knew was she was a goner. He spread her legs further apart and she rolled her hips forward to grant him better access.

He gingerly placed his lips over her the wet spot on her panties and blew searing hot air onto the patch, then trailed up to her clit. His tongue pressed onto the sensitive nub, causing her breath to hitch in her throat and spasms in her legs.

“Data…” she gasped, arching her back into it. “Dear God, right there.”

He wrapped his arms around her thighs and hoisted her up until her lower back was resting on his folded knees and her legs were dangling over his shoulders.

The change in position sent new waves of sensation ripple across her body. He then removed her last piece of clothing.

“Kayla.” She hummed in response, covering her eyes with an arm and pulling him in closer with her thighs.

His voice changed, “Kayla.”

“Kayla, wake up.” Her head snapped up. _What?_

She awoke with a start, groaning in realization.

Yawning, she mumbled, “Couldn’t you have waited just five more minutes?”

“I don’t want to know who that was about, but the answer is no. I already let you sleep as it is,” she paused to put on her second earring, “You have 20 minutes to get your ass down to Physics.” And with that, she promptly left.

She threw her head back on her pillow, refusing to get up just yet. She froze. _Did… did I just have a sex dream about Data?_ She bolted right up and jumped out of bed. The details of the dream flooded back into her mind, and she made the mistake of looking at _the wall_. The more she looked around the room, the more she remembered. She glared at the bed as if it were the main culprit in this mess.

She let out a calming breath. It was all right. It’s not like it was her first sex dream, right?

…But it never happened with someone she actually cared about. She shook her head. Nevertheless, it didn’t mean anything. It was a natural reaction, considering the amount of time they spend together along with her recent… endeavor.

And now she only had 15 minutes to get out of bed, get dressed, eat, and get to the classroom on time. The day was just getting better and better.

 

 

 

 

Data was troubled.

He felt a distinct sense of dread and anxiety about the events that are likely to unfold. Inexplicably, the image files of Kayla have gotten mixed in with his other databanks, causing them to pop up at the oddest times. The only logical explanation could be this was due to how after spending so much time together, that connection was somehow severed. Perhaps his system was attempting to compensate for the unexpected lack of sensory information previously flowing in from the presence of Kayla.

In any case, he had responsibilities to attend to.

Namely, the upcoming tutoring session with the girl in question. He may or may not have been intentionally avoiding her, explaining his actions on the basis of not wanting to deal with the possible outcomes of a confrontation.

If he was honest with himself, he would admit that he was slightly worried that she might ask him to delete the files of what had occurred that evening, as well as ask to terminate their friendship.

Data valued Kayla’s friendship very much… In fact, he had a figurative difficulty in recalling what he had done in his spare time before their holodeck adventures. His difficulty was figurative because he had perfect memory files of what he had done; he just chose to ignore them because they made less sense now than they did before.

He picked up his violin and stuck it under his chin in his usual swift and professional manner. Music, he found, aiding his thinking processes. He knew that he did not want to lose their blooming friendship, but he also knew that if he did not handle the situation with care, it could all very well ‘go south’.

He learned that phrase from Commander Riker whilst they were preparing for an exceptionally precarious mission three point four weeks ago.

As he began the starting strokes of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, he thought about the appropriate course of action to take at this point. Suddenly, he had the thought that he should consult with a trusted person in his life. Somebody who would surely never reveal any of this to a third party. Somebody, who could possibly be held by oath never to reveal something they were told under certain conditions.

\----

“Hello, Data. Please, sit down,” said Counselor Troi, smiling warmly. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“It is a rather… delicate matter. A matter that involves somebody else,” he sighed. “I am afraid that an event occurred which could potentially damage or ever terminate my friendship with someone.”

“You know I can’t tell you what to do.”

“I am aware. That is why I have prepared multiple possible courses of action myself, and would simply like you to aid me in discovering the least… awkward and hurtful method. I believe that you should make a slight exception in my case, as I have more difficulty in these matters than humans.”  
Deanna pursed her lips and hummed. “I guess that would be all right. But you’re still the one who has to decide on what to do about your problem, all right?”

“Of course, Counselor.”

“Okay. Then why don’t you tell me a little bit more about the situation?”  
“You must understand that for privacy reasons I cannot reveal some crucial information, but I will try my best.”

“Go on,” she encouraged.

“I accidentally walked in on the person in question, whilst they were… not ready to receive guests,” he tried.

“I understand.”

“We have an… appointment… at the end of this week, and I fear that they may feel too uncomfortable around me to continue being friends with me.”  
“ _That’s_ the problem? Data, friends accidentally walk in on each other naked all the time! A lot of people just laugh about it, unless of course they have feelings for each other…” she chuckled. _Data? Having girl troubles?_

“Well, from my part, that is impossible, seeing that I have none. Is that the only reason why the people involved wouldn’t be laughing about the matter?”

“No, of course not. It’s just the most common one. Although, it still could be the reason you know. Just maybe not from your side…” she trailed off, hoping he understood without it being explicitly said.

“Are you insinuating that they have romantic or sexual feelings towards me?”

“It’s a possibility.”  
“I do not think that that is the case, Counselor. She—they have made no such advances toward me, and if they did, that could be easily explained as other activities.”  
“I not exactly sure I’m following you on this one, Data,” she frowned.

“No matter. I do not think they would wish to reveal that detail, so I will refrain from doing so.”

“Okay, well, what do you think you should do?”  
“Some of my methods include the following: One, talking to them about it in a calm and mature fashion, two, design a ship wide diversion and—“

“Stop right there. Why don’t you just go with the first one?”  
“You suggest that that is the best way to handle the situation?”  
“Absolutely. Please don’t cause a ship wide diversion,” she smiled.

“Unless it is absolutely necessary,” he nodded.

“No, just don’t. Please.”

“When do you suggest the conversation should take place? And where?”

“I’m afraid I’m not the one who should decide that. But I can say that it should be before your… appointment,” she winked.

“Is there something in your eye, Counselor?” he asked, looking adorably concerned.

“No, Data,” she laughed. “Just go talk to her.”  
“Thank you, Counselor,” he said as he stood up to leave. “I will let you know how it ‘went down’.”

“All right, goodbye Data,” she said, still chuckling.


	8. Oops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla made a mistake but in the end everything went better than expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and sorry for the huge delay... I've been updating this on ff.net and completely forgot about ao3!! I'm sorry but here you go :)

“Sooooo, Rosalyn,” Kayla addressed her friend. She was just reading some 20th century earth novel in the rec room when Kayla ambushed her.

“Why do I already have a bad feeling about this?” asked the petite brunette, setting her book aside.

“I don’t know man, because my proposition is completely innocent.”

“Of course it is. Shoot.”  
“No, I’m serious. I’m guessing people find the prolonged “so’s” untrustworthy. I’ll keep that in mind,” she sad as she sat down next to her. “I was just wondering if you were free this afternoon. I thought we could hang out in Ten Forward a little bit.”

“Yeah, sure. You didn’t have to come all the way up here to tell me that, though, did you?” she asked with a single eyebrow raised.

“Well, no, I technically didn’t, but yeah.”

“’But yeah’. Eloquent, Kay,” she teased.

“Okay, the truth is, someone likes you, and I was just trying to get you down there on a surprise blind-date sort of thing,” she confessed.

“Somebody likes me? God dammit.”

“Wait, what?”  
“What do you mean what?” asked Rosalyn, her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m dating Maria, remember?”

“Why the fuck does nobody tell me anything on this damn ship?! No, Rosalyn, I did _not_ know that.” She buried her face in her hands. “What the hell am I gonna do now?” She looked up. “And how, or more importantly why, were you keeping it so hidden? I’ve been here for weeks and I never even noticed. And I have a pretty good eye for this stuff.”

Rosalyn looked away sheepishly, “Well, I guess we’re just kind of private about this stuff.”

“Oh. Well, there’s still the question of what the frick frack I’m gonna do about Rek—nobody. Shit. Nobody! You didn’t hear anything oh my god.”

“Damn, it’s Rekku? I never would’ve guessed. Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, I was supposed to set this up weeks ago.”

“Dude.”

“I know.”

“Well, I can go anyway, pretend that I don’t know about all this, and just let him down gently. I mean, he’s gotta understand that I’m dating somebody else, right?”

“Right. He’s a nice guy.”

“Yeah, he is. I feel kinda bad.”

“Same. But no worries, this kind of thing happens to everyone. Except me, that is,” Kayla joked.

“Oh shut up, miss I’m-such-hot-shit-that-I-even-got-an-android-to-fall-in-love-with-me.”  
“Data’s not in love with me,” Kayla deflected. “Besides, we’ve reached a little… obstacle. Things have been a little awkward.”  
“What? Why?”

“It’s kind of a funny story actually… one that I really do _not_ want to get into right now.”  
“Come on Kay! You’ve told me this much, you can’t stop now! I need to know.”

“Promise you won’t tell anyone though. Like really promise. Not even Maria.”

“I swear on my pinky.”  
“You mean you pinky swear?”

“Yeah, that. I grew up surrounded by Betazoids, okay? I don’t know this weird human lingo.”

“ _Lingo_? Now you are about four hundred years behind with that one.”

“Yeah whatever, just tell me!”  
“Fine.” She took a deep breath. “He walked in on me naked.”

Rosalyn was silent for what seemed an eternity.

“Well fuck me sideways with a telephone pole,” she burst out laughing. “I can see how that would put a strain on any relationship! How did that even _happen_?!” she howled with laughter.

“Hey, come on! It was all very awkward, okay?” She decided to keep the little experiment to herself… At least this way, it could be kept on a humorous tone.

“Wow. Honestly, you just made my week. Thank you for that,” she wheezed as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head down to Ten Forward and get it over with. Wanna come?”  
“Sure,” she stood up. “I’ll be waiting by the door, in case he wants a friend’s shoulder to cry on.”

“Sounds good,” Rosalyn said as they both headed to the door.

 

When they reached the door for Ten Forward, Rosalyn turned to Kayla and put a hand on her friend’s arm.

“Listen, I just wanted to thank you for telling me about this. It would’ve been much worse if I would’ve gone in not knowing what to expect and be put in that position.”  
“No problem. Even though you technically forced out of me,” she chuckled.

“Even so. Thanks,” she smiled and turned to leave.

Kayla watched her sit down at a vacant table, and noticed that Wesley was sitting by himself at the table behind Rosalyn. The boy looked at Kayla questioningly, probably about why Rosa didn’t go sit with him. Kayla just waved her hand dismissively to signal that she’d fill him in later.

A few minutes later, Rekku showed up and gave his romantic accomplice a quick wave and mouthed a ‘thank you’.

Kayla half-smiled and gave him a thumbs up, feeling absolutely horrible.

Rosalyn was bracing herself for the upcoming conversation, watching as Rekku was slowly closing in on her table.

Her heart pounding, Kayla couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of her. Rekku was only a few meters away from the table, closing in fast…

…Then walked right by it.

 _Wait, what?_ Rekku walked past a dumbfounded Rosalyn’s table, and straight to the one behind it. The one where Wesley was sitting.

“Ohhhh,” Kayla slapped her forehead. “That explains _so many things_.”

Rekku sat down in front of Wesley, a nervous smile apparent on his face. Kayla slowly edged closer to Rosalyn’s table, and the pair continued to inch (very discreetly) towards the boys.

“Dammit, I can’t hear anything,” whispered Kayla.

“Me neither. I’ll just try to size up their emotions and tell you how everything’s going, all right?”  
“Well, it’s something. You Betazoids are so lucky.”

“Shhh, I need to concentrate.”

Rosalyn leaned in closer, as if that would somehow aid the gauging of emotions. While she was trying to discern the boys’ feelings from the rest of the patrons, Kayla watched them talking. The thought had occurred to her that Rekku thinks that she had talked to Wesley and that Wesley was somewhat informed of the situation, and, by proxy, Rekku’s feelings. However, that had not occurred, so they might be in for the most uncomfortable conversation of their lives.

Another problem was that though Wesley could technically be gay, or at least bisexual or pansexual, she never really got that vibe from him. _Although, I haven’t exactly been on top of my game recently, have I?_

“Well, I’m definitely feeling something,” whispered Rosalyn.

“Wow. What a very eye-opening observation.”

“No, no, I mean _something_. I just can’t really tell which one it’s coming from.”  
“Well, do you feel anything else?”

“Not really…”

“Maybe that’s because they’re both feeling the same thing. Look,” Kayla pointed.

The boys were almost subconsciously leaning closer and closer to each other, immersed in conversation.

“Aww… They’re so cute together. I wonder why I haven’t thought about them as a couple before. It makes so much sense if you think about it.”

“Yeah, well… sometimes plain old human eyes are worth more than those fancy-schmancy betazoid senses.”

“You got that right,” she grinned, still spying on the pair.

Kayla tapped her friend on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s leave them alone for a bit.”

“Oh, all right. But they’re so cute.”

“Aren’t you glad I got this to happen?”

“Uh-huh. Because it was all you and not at all pure accident that Wes just happened to be sitting alone at the exact time that they were supposed to meet.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Rosalyn laughed, and the girls headed out of the bar.

\-----

 

“All right,” Wesley cornered her in the lab. “Talk.”

“What a commanding tone you’ve got there. Looks like having a man really changed you,” Kayla averted her eyes, really _really_ not wanting to have The Conversation.

“Ha ha. Seriously.”

“Talk about what?” she tried.

“Oh come on, Kay. Why didn’t you tell me he liked me?”

“Well that would’ve put a pin in the whole ‘blind date’ thing, no?”

“Yes,” he drew out the word, indicating that there was something more to that than Kayla was letting on. Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong.

“I don’t know what else you want me to say, man.”

Wesley let go of his rigid and authoritative stance, and finally let his shy smile shine through. “I don’t know… It was just such a surprise, you know?” he scratched the back of his head in the adorable way guys sometimes do.

“Tell me about it,” she mumbled.

“Ha!” Wesley pointed an accusing finger at the girl. “It was a surprise, was it?”

_Damn. Shit damn._

“Well this is a god damn bitch of an unsatisfactory situation.”

“Don’t you quote legendary gay cowboy movie script to me, Kay,” he warned.

“Legendary gay cowboy mo—boy did Rekku rub off on you quickly.”

He shrugged, going red. “We talked about stuff.”

“I see,” she smirked. _Here’s my window of opportunity_ … she started edging away.

“Fine, fine. I see you’re trying to make a quick getaway,” he joked, then his eyes softened. “Look, I’m just glad things worked out the way they did. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. Yet.”

“Thank you for making the immense sacrifice that is not asking questions, Wes. Hope you guys… enjoy yourselves,” she winked, just to make Wesley flustered again. Teenage boys were so cute when they weren’t assholes. Although, that didn’t even seem to be the case on the Enterprise… It was a nice surprise. Kayla’s heard horror stories of the past when boys and even _grown-ass men_ felt entitled to nearly everything, including other people’s bodies. It seemed unimaginable to her then.

“Well that’s all for the interrogation part of this lovely conversation, I think I’m just gonna go now,” she waved as she approached the door.

Wesley rolled his eyes and waved back at her.

Kayla moved swiftly down the corridor, thinking she’s escaped an all-too-awkward conversation about her little mistake. By little she meant super-sized, extra large, Galaxy-class starship sized mistake. Oh, well. No one had to kno---

“Fuck damnit how do you guys _do_ this?”

Instead of answering, Rekku just raised his eyebrows in an oddly intimidating way. She was gonna have to ask him to teach her that. Could come in handy.

“Anything you’d like to… tell me?” he inquired, though it didn’t sound much like an inquiry at all.

“Not really. Well, actually, there’s this one thing, but I don’t want to bore with all the… details,” she started backing against the wall.

“Kayla,” he warned, sounding just like Wesley when he did it. How the hell didn’t she notice this shit before?

“Okay, fine, fine! Jesus Christ you guys are pushy.”  
“Us guys?” he furrowed his eyebrows. “Did Wesley corner you as well?” he asked, a small smile forming on his lips.

“Yep. Shocker. Bye!”

“Hold it right there!” Rekku held on to her elbow, stopping her in her tracks. “I just wanted to thank you for setting this up.”  
“Oh?” she glanced at him.

“Yeah. It must’ve taken some meticulous planning to get everything together that well, right?”

“…Absolutely.”

“Interesting,” he nodded. “You had no idea he was going to be there did you.”

“Not a clue. Funny how that worked out. Bye?”  
“Not quite. What I still want to know is… How _did_ it work out like that?”

“I thought you had a crush on Rosalyn, okay?”

After a brief pause, Rekku burst out laughing. “ _Rosalyn_? I mean, it’s one thing you don’t notice I’m a flaming homosexual—“  
“Shut up.”

“—But it’s a whole other thing that she’s fucking dating Maria. Why would I ask you to set me up with her?” he finally said between gasping for air.

“Okay, seriously, how does _everyone_ know this stuff except me?” she flung her hands in the air in exasperation. “It must be something on this damn ship,” she muttered.

“I don’t know, Kay. All I know is that you’re the luckiest son of a bitch in the quadrant.”

“How, exactly?”

“Can you imagine if Wesley _wasn’t_ there by some miracle? Would’ve been pretty awkward for all parties involved.”

“True.”

There were a few beats of silence, over the course of which Kayla evaluated all the wrong decisions she’d made to get to the point in her life where she is now, and Rekku smirking to himself.

“Anyway, I’ll let you get back to sorting out your own problems,” said Rekku.

“Me? Problems? What problems?”

“I’m not sure, but there’s definitely something bothering you. And it probably has something to do with your darling Data.”  
“How could you possibly know it involves him? I didn’t know Betazoid senses could detect details like that from emotions.”

“They don’t, usually. I just know you.”

“Touché.”

And so they parted.

\---

That night, Data made an urgent call to Sickbay.

He had just experienced a series of vivid hallucinations whilst in a state of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnnnn


	9. Dream(e)scape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the crew is trying to see what the heckles is going on with Data. Kayla and Data have a conversation about... things.

“I have just experienced a series of vivid hallucinations whilst in a state of unconsciousness.”  
Beverly shook her head, smiling. “To me, it sounds like you just had a dream.”

“But that is impossible.”

“You yourself said once—I think you were quoting Ambassador Spock—‘when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’.

“Actually, Ambassador Spock was quoting one of his distant relatives from his human ancestry who bore shocking resemblance to the fictional character Sherlock Holmes—“

“Not the point, Data,” she reminded him.

“Excuse me. However, eliminating the impossible in this case—my _dreaming_ —would leave nothing improbably other than a severe fault in my positronic net which I have failed to detect. And I can assure you, doctor, that I have run many safety checks and have detected nothing out of the ordinary.”

“That may be right. But, since we know nearly nothing about androids like yourself—except what you’ve helped uncover—we don’t actually know whether it’s impossible for you to dream.”

“I was built for efficiency, Doctor. ‘Dreaming’ is not an efficient and productive task. Therefore, it logically should not be part of my functions. If what you suggest is true and I was indeed dreaming, the question of why it has not presented itself in the past remains.”

“We should get Geordi up here and check you out himself. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what the dream was about?”

“It was very peculiar. It did not seem to make any logical sense.”  
“That’s how they usually are.”

“In the dream, I was in Holodeck 3. The program I was in seemed to be some sort of an island, surrounded by a massive body of water. There was a small raft near me, so I used it to paddle away from the island towards the exit. However, as I was nearing the arc, I noticed that the water from what I presume to be an Earth-like ocean flowed on, beyond the arc. That is impossible, seeing as all material created on the holodeck ceases to exist outside of it. Regardless, it flowed out of the holodeck and onto the ship. I paddled through the arc and continued down the hallway, now halfway filled with water. That was when I noticed another figure—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself—approaching me, somehow untouched by the water. He said to me, “I wrote it specifically for you. You actually _like_ Holmes, yet you don’t understand what all this is?” which was clearly a reference to his dislike of the character he had created—“

“I think I should also get Deanna while I’m at it,” Beverly walked away, shaking her head.

Both Geordi and Deanna arrived a few minutes later, looking worse for wear at being risen from their slumber.

“What’s wrong with Data?” asked Geordi, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“He dreamt.” That snapped the chief engineer out of his daze.

“Wait, what? H-how is that possible?”  
“That’s what you’re here to find out. And you, Deanna, could help us understand what it could mean.”

“That will be a difficult task, considering his lack of emo—“ she froze in place, as if she was listening for something.

“What is it, Councilor?” asked Data.

“For a second I thought I… never mind. Nothing. Go on.”

Data started recounting his ‘dream’ to Deanna while Geordi inspected his positronic net.

“Everything seems pretty much in order, Data. I don’t what could have caused—hold on, what’s that?” he leaned closer, narrowing his eyes. “The configuration of your left temporal netting changed.”  
“Changed? How so?”

“The configuration is all wrong. It looks like someone rewired that whole area. The design, it’s… I’ve never seen anything like it before, Data.”

“Perhaps that is what is the cause of these hallucinations.”  
“That would be my guess,” he agreed.

“And what is your analysis of the dream, Councilor?”

“Well… Dreams are difficult to interpret, as it varies from person to person. I can tell you what certain things in dreams usually symbolize, but you will have to find out the real meaning by yourself.”  
“I understand.”  
“Your dream contained a lot of water. Water usually symbolizes emotion, and the amount present in your dream suggests there are emotions surrounding you wherever you go. You said you were on an island, and then on a raft, never coming into contact with the water. This is to be expected, since you can’t feel any emotions, correct?”  
“Yes.”

“Then, a historical figure that created something you greatly admire, Sherlock Holmes, told you that you don’t understand something, suggesting that you subconsciously _know_ that there’s something in your life you can’t seem to explain. And then he pushes you off the raft and into the water. I’m sure you can identify what that could mean.”

Data looked pensive for a moment. “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle resents me in some way?”

Deanna smiled. “No, Data. My best guess would be that somehow, you are or will be delving into the world of emotions.”

“Fascinating.”

“Indeed it is. Now, only you could see what all these could mean in relation to your life. I know it will be difficult, but that is the only way you will know for sure.”

“I see.”

\---

Deanna let out a sigh as the door hissed shut behind her. She hated being woken up, and she felt she deserved a little chocolate mousse before trying to go back to sleep.

She walked up to the replicator and placed her order. As the glass cup with the glorious form of edible love materialized in front of her, her mind wandered back to the events of not ten minutes ago.

She was positive she had felt another presence in the sickbay. Just for an instant, before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She took the glass and spoon and sat on her couch.

The presence felt… Serene, yet mildly agitated. If she hadn’t known better, she would think it was _Data_.

She knew it was possible to feel the emotions of androids; Lore was more than enough proof to that. But Data didn’t have the emotion chip that Lore had, and without it, it was impossible for him to feel anything. It was simply the way he was programmed. If one didn’t upload a particular software to the main computer, they would obviously not be able to use it, because it doesn’t exist. It wasn’t a fault; it was simply the way he was.

Deanna looked down to discover that she was already halfway finished with her mousse.

She briefly wondered whom she could have felt in Sickbay... Perhaps her senses accidentally picked up another crewmember nearby, and she mistook it for someone in the room. She let out another sigh, and stood up from the couch. She put the glass away and brushed her hair before finally slipping back into bed.

\---

Kayla took a series of deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. She shook her hands violently by her side, and punching the air a couple times before burying them in her hair. She was trying to psyche herself up for the upcoming _painfully awkward as shit_ conversation she knew she had to have before all the windows of opportunity closed.

Bracing herself, she rang the starship quarters’ equivalent of a doorbell, and waited. But an answer never came. Confused, she wandered around a few places she thought Data might be at that time of day, before she remembered the computer.

“Computer, locate Lieutenant Commander Data.” She knew he couldn’t be on the bridge. (Yes, she knew his rotation schedule. Shut up.)

“Lieutenant Commander Data is in Botanical Laboratory A.” _What’s he doing in the botany lab?_ she wondered. Kayla shrugged, taking the next turbolift she could find.

On her way there, she started to question her resolve. Did it _really_ need discussing? After all, Data’s an android; so it’s not like there’s a mutual emotional factor involved… right? She sighed in frustration, glaring at the floor as she walked.

But then why would he have ignored her for so long? Or avoided her? Sure, she wasn’t so keen on interaction either, but it did seem a little off. Maybe she weirded him out… Maybe he thinks all humans do that kind of bizarre shit, and he used this opportunity to just do a 180 and back out of it all.

Holy God, what if she was the reason why he stopped pursuing his dream of becoming more human? If that was the case, she wasn’t sure how she could live with herself. Data’s quest seemed like the noblest cause in the entire galaxy; improving himself constantly in any way that he could, weeding out the bad behaviours of humankind and keeping (or at least trying) the good ones… It just seemed so pure.

She chuckled to herself. The universe’s greatest irony: the one living being following one of the most righteous and honorable paths in life would never truly understand the virtue of it. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be… after all, obliviousness towards those factors would be the only way to guarantee that the person doing it is doing it for the right reasons.

She frowned. No. She refused to be the cause of ruining something so important. She had to apologize; she had to fix it somehow.

She arrived at the botany lab doors, renewed determination apparent on her face. She straightened her back, and head held high, she walked through the doors.

Data was standing with his back to her, hunched over a microscope. She quickly glanced around the room to check whether anybody else was around. The coast clear, she cleared her throat to make him aware of her presence.

“Kayla?” he asked, not turning around. Well then.

“Yep, it’s me. I wondering if we could—“  
“Would you please assist me with these Andorian plant samples?” he interrupted, still not taking his eyes off of the view piece.

“Boy, that must be some interesting research,” she mumbled but complied with his request.

“Of course it is. Why would one pursue… _un_ interesting research?” he questioned.

She smiled faintly at that and said, “Never mind. What do you need me to do?”

“Please bring me the vials marked ‘Sample Red’ one, two, and three. I believe they are located on the shelf to the left of you.” Kayla fetched the vials and brought them to Data. She leaned against the counter to the right of him, both her hands resting on the cool dark blue surface.

“So is this a time-dependent experiment, or…” she trailed off.

“It is not. However, I would like to separate the samples into the vials prior to any lengthy discussions.”

“So you _do_ think there’s a lengthy discussion we should probably have, huh?” she winced.

“I believe that we do.” He started neatly placing the various plant samples into their respective containers. Anxiety was eating away at Kayla, who just watched as the android _ever so slowly_ put everything away. Lab etiquette _is_ key, after all.

“You know it doesn’t actually have to be so lengthy if we don’t want it to be,” she burst out as Data finally placed the last vial in the overhead cabinet. He clicked it shut, turning towards her. Before he could say anything Kayla continued.

“I know it was stupid, and I’m sorry. I really don’t want something like this cause the end of our friendship, or the end of your yearning to become more human—because let’s face it, humans do some weird shit that you probably wouldn’t want to get into anyway—and you know to be completely honest here, I have no idea why I even did it because the moment you left my quarters I regretted it _so bad_ and I just wanted you to know that I’m really, really, really, really, really, _really_ sorry,” she gasped. Data hadn’t moved or tried to say anything during her monologue, and he was still sat, staring at her.

“I believe we have the ‘lengthy’ part of the discussion behind us,” he said.

After a moment, Kayla burst out laughing. “Was—was that a _joke_?”

“It was a statement you found amusing in some way.”

“Well, yeah, but… it just seemed sort of… almost like it was intentionally amusing,” she glanced at him. “But that’s impossible, _of course_ ,” she teased, waiting for the usual response of ‘Indeed’ or ‘Certainly’.

Instead, Data _sighed_ and looked down at the floor. “I am not sure of the possibilities and impossibilities of my own being any longer.”

Kayla stared at him, her mouth forming a surprised ‘o’. “What do you… What?” she shook her head in confusion. “What do you mean you’re not sure? Up until now you were more than adamant about your being ‘emotionless’ and unable to make or understand jokes…” she trailed off, her eyebrows furrowed. “What happened to you?”

“I… I do not know.” Their eyes met, and he looked… he looked almost sad. It wasn’t the emotional sorrow that was most commonly apparent on people’s faces; sorrow that came to be from corners of lips downturned, eyes glistening… Data’s eyes looked more vacant that anything. And yet, the golden color seemed to hide something new beneath the surface, something that Kayla had only seen uncertain glimpses of before.

“Is it something I did?” Kayla asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

“No,” Data said simply. “However, I believe that you may have been the catalyst for later events.”

“Such as…”  
“I had a dream.”  
Kayla blinked. _A dream? What the hell?_ How could she have been a catalyst to having a dream? _Oh God, I hope we’re not gonna have to exchange any dream stories, cause then I’m fucking screwed. Literally._ She pushed the though out of her head, redirecting her focus onto the issue at hand.

“How is that even possible?”

“I am not certain, however Geordi had discovered that the netting of my left temporal lobe had been mysteriously reconfigured. These new settings are what we hypothesize to be the cause of my newfound… ability.”

“Well that’s… to be honest, I have no idea how to react to this,” she grimaced. “But this is a good thing, right? Dreaming?”

“I suppose that is relative.”

“What was your dream about?” Data gave her a not-so-brief summary of the contents of his dream, Kayla nodding thoughtfully every so often.

“And what do you think that could mean?”  
“Counselor Troi informed me that solely I possess the capacity to decipher the precise meaning of these events. Despite my disadvantages as an android—“  
“There’s no fucking disadvantage,” burst out Kayla vehemently. She was taken aback by her violent outburst; she had honestly not felt the anger build up in her so suddenly.

“In any case, I am not properly equipped to ‘deal’ with such occurrences. Despite that fact, I seemed to have reached some form of conclusion in relation to the dream that I had experienced.” He looked up at her.

“Counselor Troi interpreted the presence of Sir Conan Doyle as a representation of somebody currently in my life whom I greatly admire. When he pushed me into the water, which she also identified as the symbol for emotion, I could only surmise that as a result of somebody that I care for deeply will force me into the world of feeling.”

Kayla nodded. “That seems to make sense,” she agreed.

“I do not believe you understand what I am insinuating,” he stood up from his stool, straightening his back and regarding her with golden eyes. The hairs on the back of Kayla’s neck stood on edge. There was a sudden tension in the room that she wasn’t sure she should be allowed to attribute to the kind of tension she was attributing it to.

“Well, uh. What _are_ you insinuating?” she stammered as he stepped closer. He was looming over her small frame situated on her own stool, gazing down at her in pensively.

“Kayla, I believe that you are the individual whom is supposed to introduce me to the world of emotion, as it was portrayed in my dream.” She stood up slowly, forcing Data to step back slightly so they weren’t nose-to-nose.

“What are you saying, Data?” she said quietly.

Confusion took over his features as he slowly shook his head. “I… do not know. Perhaps—perhaps I am attempting to ask you to be a mentor to me, in matters of feelings and such effects.”

“ _I_ mentor _you_? You’re supposed to be _my_ teacher!” she grinned for a brief moment before letting her features fall again. “I don’t really know how to do that, anyway.”  
“Whether you know how to mentor or not, you appear to be the most suitable person for the task at present. After all, we have experienced a certain intimacy only few beings share,” his eyes glinted in a playful way. _Hold on, what? Since when do his eyes do that?_

“Low blow, my friend. Low blow. I think we should refrain from mentioning that that ever happened, ever.”

By the time a science-blue clad Ensign anxiously scampered through the doors of the botany lab, Data had resumed his lab work and Kayla was long gone, smiling at emerging victorious from what she had been convinced would be the worst moment of her life.


	10. Master Kayla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla starts teaching Data about human interaction. Rekku and Wesley are compromised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we're all caught up to the present. WOO

“Okay, lesson number one: even if it’s a fact, telling people you are clearly better than them at something will make them _not like you_.”

“I do not understand.”

Kayla sighed into steaming cup of black tea. “The human ego is a fragile thing, Data. Easily breakable. They know you’re more efficient and just generally better than them, reiterating it just makes things worse.”

“Ah, like the concept of heroism, as depicted in Ernest Becker’s book, The Birth and Death of Meaning. I believe I understand now.”

“Good,” Kayla smiled. Technically, they haven’t even begun their so-called ‘training’; it’s just that Data had a knack for accidentally offending people. Like Liuetenant Rhodes, who was just boasting about his new ‘high score’ for changing the auxiliary chips in the computer’s mainframe and happened to be overheard by Data. The events that followed were not difficult to guess.

“Before we start, do you have any general questions about SIMPLE human behaviour that I can actually answer?”  
“I do. Asking and answering all of them, however, would take approximately 2.31 years, therefore I shall refrain.” Kayla sighed.

“How about this: you just pick one randomly and I’ll answer that.” Data’s eyes flitted back and forth for a few seconds before resettling on her.

“What is the function of keeping two individuals’ hands in contact for long periods of time?”

_Of course it had to be something like this._

“Well, put simply, it feels good. It provides a sense of familiarity and being close with that person.” Data seemed to digest that information for a few moments before saying anything.

“I am afraid while I can understand the sentiment on a superficial level, I am not yet capable of gaining a deeper understanding of these actions.”  
Kayla pursed her lips. “Data?”  
“Yes?”

“Can you physically feel things?”  
“Please specify.”  
“Like the what the surface of this table feels like.”

“It is a glass surface, approximately 23 Celsius—“  
“No, I mean… Ugh,” Kayla let out a noise of frustration. “Okay, I have an idea. Close your eyes.” Data obliged.

“Now touch the surface of the table with your fingertips. Try to feel the table; run your fingers across and just try to… feel it. Properly.” Data’s face scrunched up in concentration—an oddly human reaction.

“Tell me what you feel.”

“I feel…” Data paused at the foreign phrase. “A smooth surface. Cooler than our surroundings…” Kayla watched Data rub circles into the table with his golden fingers, mesmerized.

“Okay,, good. You’re doing really well, Data.” Kayla swallowed. “Now try to hold on to that sensation.” She lifted her hand, slowly placing it over his.

“Now what do you feel?”

“I feel warmth.” He shifted their hands so that his palm was facing up, his fingers touching Kayla’s palm. His thumb rested on the back of her hand. “I feel the millions of ridges and prints on your skin.” A blush rose to Kayla’s cheeks, suddenly painfully aware that they were still in Ten Forward. “I feel the blood pulsing through the tips of your fingers.” Eyes still closed, Data’s eyebrow furrowed. “Your pulse has elevated.” He opened his eyes. “Are you all right?”

Kayla cleared her throat, glancing down at their clasped hands.

“Yeah, I’m fine… It’s just that usually couples hold hands… in this particular way.”

“Couples? Do you mean lovers?” _Just had to use that fucking word, didn’t he?_

“Yes…lovers.”

“I see,” he unclasped their hands. “I apologize if I caused any discomfort.”

“It’s fine…” Kayla muttered, feeling the absence of his hand on hers.

After a moment, Data asked, “How does one hold hands in a platonic fashion?”

Kayla’s shoulders relaxed slightly at the minute shift in the conversation. “Well, friends usually don’t hold hands. The only platonic handholding thing I can think of is a parent holding their children’s hands. Maybe sometimes little girls playing together on in a schoolyard or something. Other than that, handholding is usually reserved as a romantic thing to do.”

“I do not believe I understand the reason for these distinctions.”  
Kayla sighed. “You know Data, I think this is gonna be a learning experience for the both of us…”  
“How so?”  
“People usually don’t have to think about why they do what they do… We mostly just abide the implicit code of conduct that we’re bound by. You know, the whole ‘People see, people do’ shebang.”

“I suppose it is difficult to discern certain aspects of behaviour that seem natural and logical to you.”  
“Yep. You’re kinda asking me to answer these big, philosophical questions that really really smart people have been trying to figure out for centuries,” she smiled playfully.

After finishing their drinks, or rather Kayla finishing hers, she led him to the observation lounge on Deck 8.

The observation lounge was deserted, most of the crew either on duty or using their meagre free time to sleep, spend time with their friends, or looking after various side-projects… Coupled with the fact that they spent the better part of the last two years _in_ space, so there was no particular allure in looking at it some more. Data looked at her questioningly, head tilted to the side.

“I know what you’re thinking—actually, scratch that. I know _one_ of the ten zillion thoughts running through your head right now.” Before Data could open his mouth to correct to vast overestimation, Kayla cut him off.

“ _Yes_ , Data, I know that that wasn’t entirely right. Relax.” She gestured for him to follow her.

She led them to the center of the room and told Data to stay there while she skipped (she was excited, okay?) to the control panel located on the wall opposite them. She looked back at Data, biting back a smile threatening to spread across her features. She punched in the code and waited as the two massive beige ceiling panels began shifting to the side, revealing the breathtaking sight of space, completely undisturbed by the fiberglass that could be found on every other translucent area of the ship. The only thing stopping both of them from being blown out of the observation lounge and have them hurtling through space was the completely see-through layer of emergency power field.

“You have engaged the emergency field.”

“Yep.”

“That is against the regulations,” Data pointed out.

Kayla shrugged her shoulders. “Regulations, schmegulations.”

Data opened his mouth as if to say something, then seemingly deciding against it, closed it again.

“So what we’re gonna do now,” started Kayla, letting her hair out of her ponytail, “Is lay on the floor and look at stars.” For the record, her intentions were completely innocent. This was an exercise to try and teach the android to look at something physical and oft considered scientific (especially since humans have started moving out of their solar system), and see the beauty in it instead.

Despite his apparent (but subtle) surprise, Data complied and eased himself to the floor. Kayla followed in suit, enjoying the feeling of finally being able to stretch her back.

“First off, tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you look out there,” she said, ignoring the fact that their shoulders were touching.

“Constellation Allineau 3-11C is most prominent in this part of the inter-planetary cycle—“

“That’s what I thought.” She turned her head to face him. “If you’re going to ‘delve into the world of emotion’, you need to understand that humans see the beauty in these things first. Well, technically, we see the bad things first, but for the sake of the example let’s just go with the poetic version.”

“I do not believe I have the capacity to accurately process the ‘poetic version’,” said Data.

“Well that’s what you pay me for, isn’t it?”  
“I do not give you payment. Would that be something you require in exchange for your services?”

“… Oh my god, you fucking nerd,” Kayla grinned, shoving his shoulder with hers. “Of course I don’t ‘require payment’. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

Data stayed silent for a moment, pondering something. “I believe you are referring to the fact that I aided you in improving your performance is astrophysics, and, due to our friendship, you are now helping me.”

Kayla stared at him for a few moments before letting out a noise of awed disbelief. “Data…” her eyes softened. “That’s exactly it. You got it!”

“However—“  
“Oh, geez.”

“I do not understand why you would refer to me as ‘a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious’ in the fashion you have. Your body language suggested a form of compliment, yet the word conveys a meaning that is in the contrary.”

“Okay, you know what?” Kayla huffed in frustration. “Can we just—could we just look at the _beautiful-ass view I went through fire and hells for_?”

Data stayed silent (thankfully) for the next fifteen minutes, and Kayla started forgetting he was even there. She snapped out of her daze when she felt Data’s little finger brush against hers.

Fighting the urge to smile, she stayed still in fear that the little gesture was just an accident and Data wasn’t even aware of its being there… _Hold the phone—_ It couldn’t be accident. He had more senses and she had dirty thoughts about… So yeah it definitely couldn’t have been an accident. Right?

In a rare moment of courage, she hooked her little finger around his and waited for a reaction.

The core of her stomach lit on fire and her chest erupted with butterflies when she felt his finger respond by tightening against hers. She was a little confused, she was a little anxious, but she just couldn’t get herself to open her mouth and ask him about it.

Instead, they just stayed like that… right up until a short ensign sporting a bob-cut entered the lounge. The two sprung apart, a small smile on Kayla’s lips while Data explained what the hell they were doing the floor and assuring the ensign that they didn’t need any medical attention.

Kayla wasn’t entirely sure about that last part.

\---

 

Kayla burst into Rekku’s quarters, her mouth running a hundred miles an hour before she was fully in the room.  
“Rek, I need to talk to you abou—Fuck.” She stopped in her tracks, eyes widening at the scene unfolding before her. Wesley covered his now crimson face with his shirt... that wasn’t on his body.

“Kayla!” Rekku exclaimed, reaching for his own shirt. “You can’t just barge into someone’s quarters like that!”  
Kayla quickly and politely averted her eyes as the two boys fumbled to put their various items of clothing back on. From what she had witnessed, things were still quite innocent when she had entered the room. Even so, this was exceptionally uncomfortable for all parties involved.

Wesley cleared his throat and ruffled his hair, mumbling a quick goodbye and dashing out the door as fast as he could without looking like an idiot.

Rekku glared at Kayla from where he was sitting on the couch. “You,” he pointed an accusing finger at her. “You fucking cock-blocker.”

Kayla blinked at him in surprise. “That is the first time I ever heard you swear, dude. And how the hell do you know the phrase ‘cock-blocker’? Even _I_ had to think about that one for a second.”

“I’m around you a lot—way too much for my liking, actually—I pick up a few things here and there. You’re still a cock-blocker though,” he crossed his arms, pouting.

“I’m sorry, okay? I figured you’d have at least locked the damn door if you were gonna…do things,” she waved her hand noncommittally.

Rekku shrugged, going a little red. “The door wasn’t exactly the most important thing on my mind.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna hear it.”

“Well, job’s done now, isn’t it? You wanted to say something anyway, so shoot,” he said as he moved over on the couch to give her some space.

“Well,” she huffed as she took a seat. “You might have been right about something—stop smiling like that, I’m trying to be serious here!”

“Sorry,” he chuckled. “Right about what?” Kayla looked down at her lap and twiddled her thumbs.

“Come on, Kay, you came this far. Tell me.” Still, she pointedly looked away, silently urging him to figure it out without her actually having to say it.

“Are you serious? Why can’t you just—“ his eyes widened. “Ooooh.” His eyebrows shot up. “Oooh! Oh my god!”

“I fucking get it, you’re shocked. Now stop it, I need help,” she whined.

“What do you—How—I don’t—What?!” he sputtered.  
“Holy hell, I should just leave. I knew it was a bad idea to tell anyone.”

“But—But I don’t even know what happened. You didn’t actually tell me anything. Maybe you should, you know, because I am getting the most extreme version of things up here,” he said, pointing at his temple.

“Oh my god, no, nothing _actually_ happened! I just meant about the whole feelings thing.”  
“Oh.”

“Are you… disappointed?” asked Kayla incredulously.

“Well, kinda.”

“Wow. You know, you’re the best friend a girl could ask for. My feelings for a fucking _android_ aren’t scandalous enough for your liking. No, you’d rather have me, an underage girl, sexin’ it up with one.”

“Okay, it sounds bad when you put it like that. I just mean… Well, _I_ could’ve told you about you having a crush on Data.”

Kayla paused. “What.”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious,” Rekku grimaced. “Everyone in our friend-group knows.”

“ _Everyone knows??_ ” yelled Kayla.

“Yeah, we talk about it all the time!”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, slapping his arm.

“We assumed you _knew_!” Rekku yelled back, rubbing his arm.

“Well, you obviously severely overestimated my capacity to _not_ be a completely emotionally-constipated doofus.”

“Point.” Kayla let out a noise of frustration and buried her face in a pillow.

“Mwh thw hwell wahmi s’pose to do mow,” she said, her voice muffled.

“Care to repeat that in a dialect I can actually understand?”  
She lifted her face. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

“How about you start by telling me what happened?”

They sat there talking for the next half hour about the long-winded journey that had led to Kayla’s confused and maddening feelings concerning a particular android.

“This would be really, really cute if it weren’t so tragic,” Rekku muttered sympathetically.

“Tell me about it. How can I get over someone I never even dated?”

“Well, how did you get over your crushes until now?”

“I don’t know… they just sort of blew over with time. This just feels different for some reason, and I don’t know why. The fact that this has a total of 0% chance of happening should make this easier, right?”  
Rekku furrowed his eyebrows. “What makes you think there’s a 0% chance of it happening?”

“Just look at the facts; I’m a teenage girl who has a crush on an android with no feelings. No feelings equals… well, no feelings. Towards anybody. And especially not towards me.”

“Why especially not you?”

Kayla squirmed at the question. “He’s just so… you know. And I’m just so… you know.”

“Nope.” Kayla covered her eyes with her hands, really, _really_ not wanting to have that conversation anymore.

“The fact is that I’m just a kid. At least technically until five months from now, I’m a kid. He’s not only an adult, and my teacher, and my friend, but he’s this amazing person that has the brain capacity of who knows what—and has all these unbelievable qualities… And his life span. If nothing else, I’ll just keep getting older and older, and he’ll stay the same. It’s a crush that never should have happened. I should have been more careful about this…” she looked up Rekku, eyes red-rimmed from the sudden burst of emotions. “It’s hard not to fall in love with someone when they’re someone like Data.”

Rekku remained silent for a long time. “You never said it was love.”

“I don’t know what it is. Calling it a crush just seemed a bit… Inaccurate.”

“I really don’t see what you could do about this, other than waiting it out. Maybe you should put a little more distance between you two to make it easier,” he suggested.

“I can’t do that; I’m supposed to be training him to develop emotionally.”

“How fitting.”

_Isn’t it._


	11. Mirror Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange anomaly appears in front of the Enterprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry this is so late. I keep for getting to update on AO3 :P

Data was on the bridge, tending to his duties at the helm during Alpha shift. The Captain, along with the rest of the bridge crew were mostly silent, with Riker mumbling orders every so often. This lack of activity did nothing to help Data’s mind from wandering to the events that had taken place over the past few days.

Kayla, after taking him to the observation lounge, showed him how to identify when someone is upset when they’re trying not to show it. The entire process had left Data with even more follow-up questions, but he promised to work on it anyway. Then, upon discovering that he has attempted poetry, demanded that he read some of his work to her.

_“Well that was… interesting.”_

_“’Interesting’ seems to be the most common identifier used by the crew regarding my work.”_

_“Yeah, well… You follow all the rules to writing poetry, but it’s still missing that fundamental quality that makes it such an important and influential art form.”_

_“I understand that it is lacking. I do not, however, understand how.”_

_“Why don’t you try writing about something you truly care about?”  
“But I do care about Spot.”_

_“You hardly have any emotions as it is. How could you possibly care about a made-up cat?”_

_“Spot is not fictitious.”_

_“…What.”_

_“Spot is a real cat.”_

_“Whose cat is it?”  
“He is my cat.”_

_“You have a cat?”_

_“I believe we have just established that.”_

_“Don’t get cheeky with me, Data.”_

“Data?”

“Hm?” he answered, focusing on Geordi who was sitting at the console next to his.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I did not notice.”  
Geordi regarded his friend with a confused and suspicious look. “You hummed when I called your name. You never hum.”  
Data blinked in surprise. “I did not notice that either. I believe I might be ‘picking up a few things’, as Kayla would say.”

“Kayla? That girl in your class?”  
“Yes. She has been teaching me about emotions and how to be more human.”

“I see…” Geordi trailed off, turning back to his console, looking pensive.

“Is there something bothering you, Geordi?” asked Data.

Geordi shook his head a little. “No, not really… I just—You seem a little different somehow. I can’t really put my finger on how, though.”

“Is there anything specific you have noticed?”

Geordi hesitated for a moment before answering. “Well for one thing, you seemed to be distracted for a moment there. Which in itself is strange because I know you can process millions of different kinds of information input while carrying a reasonably normal conversation with me. Distraction doesn’t make any sense.”

Data paused, looking for an appropriate response to the statement. “Your observations are not incorrect—“ he flinched at his use of double negatives—“However I must remind you, Geordi, that while my primary processors could, in theory, be preoccupied with a specific issue, my subcircuitry is more than capable to handle several other issues in conjunction with my primary functions.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I know that…” Geordi chuckled. “I have, quite literally, been inside your head my friend. There still seems to be something off about it.” He turned his attention back to the viewscreen. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a _crush_ on someone.”

Data’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “I do not understand; why would I wish to crush somebody?”

“No, I meant—Ugh, just look it up. ‘Earth colloquialism’ should do the trick.”

Data eyes flicked back and forth while he tried to retrieve the information.

“Ah. Crush; noun: An intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable or inappropriate.”

“Yup, that’s the one,” said Geordi without taking his eyes off the screen, which Data took as the end of the conversation. He mimicked his friend’s stance as he got back to the task at hand as well. Data considered Geordi’s suggestion. While it was obviously meant to be taken as a ‘joke’, Data found himself oddly reluctant to let the thought go.

Could it be possible? Being infatuated with… No. It was impossible to have a ‘crush’ on someone without any discernable emotions. And yet, his fascination with the young human girl was real enough to, for the first time since he’s been activated, doubt himself.

 _Young_. The word echoed through his processors like an ugly whisper. Data ran through the events that had occurred since the arrival of Kayla, and realized that if he were a human male, approximately 87.2 percent of their interactions would be considered deeply inappropriate.

 

It was this realization that caused to detect the anomaly 0.34 seconds too late.

 

The Enterprise lurched, causing everyone on the bridge (with the exception of Data) to tumble forward. Data’s hands pressed furiously away at his console as the rest of the bridge crew scrambled back to their stations.

Captain Picard shouted order after order in quick—yet not panicked—succession. Data’s eyes snapped to the viewscreen, surveying the imminent threat. In front of them was a giant, black, smudge. It measured approximately 40.3 light years in width, and 23.7 light years in height. But… Data checked and re-checked the calculations on the monitor.

“Sir.”  
“Can it wait, Commander Data?” asked the Captain, gaze fixed on the anomaly in front of the Enterprise.

“Sir, if my calculations are correct…” Data lifted his eyes to meet Picard’s. “The anomaly is a mere 0.012 millimeters in depth.”

“How is that possible? It might as well not even be there,” Geordi uttered in shock. “How can this… whatever this is, cause the Enterprise destabilize to such an extent?”  
“I do not know.”

Picard’s lips formed a straight line as he pressed the comm button on his Captain’s chair. “Counselor Troi to the bridge,” he ordered quietly.

“On my way,” came her soothing yet alarmed voice through the system.

Moments later, she strode through the turbolift doors and took her place on the left of the Captain. Just as she made contact with the chair, the Enterprise lurched again, nearly causing her to tumble off the seat.

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“We do not know,” answered Picard. “Do you feel sense anything from the entity? Any form of consciousness?”

Deanna closed her eyes and scrunched up her eyebrows in concentration. “Nothing so far, but…” she brought her hand to her temple, as if somehow the motion would amplify her abilities. “I cannot discern it from the crew of the Enterprise, if there is something there.”

Data observed how Riker rubbed his beard in disappointment, deep in thought, and how Picard pursed his lips, doing the same. It briefly occurred to Data that he has not yet observed the people around him to discern their emotional state and _succeeded_ at doing so.

“Permission to make a suggestion, sir,” said Data.

“Granted,” Picard answered without lifting his eyes from the screen.

“Perhaps we should attempt to move closer to the entity and gauge its reaction. From the reactions it had seemingly imposed on the Enterprise, I calculate the major risk factor of this course of action at 2.3%.”

“I think he’s right,” Riker glanced at the Captain.  
Picard took a few moments to mull the suggestion over, and then gave a slight nod in agreement. “Make it so. Quarter impulse, Lieutenant LaForge.”

“Quarter impulse straight ahead, sir.”

The ship inched forward, the tension on the bridge becoming palpable the closer they got to whatever it was. Seconds ticked by, and so far nothing had happened.

“Hey, you okay?” Data raised his eyes to see Geordi looking at him with concern.

“I am functioning within my normal parameters,” Data answered automatically.

“Are you sure? Because you’re denting the console,” Geordi looked pointedly at where Data’s hands were close to crushing his station. Data looked down, noticing for the first how tightly he was holding onto the console. He let go of the sides immediately, raising his hands in front of him, staring at them.

“I appear to have… I appear to have some sort of dysfunction. I do not understand. My positronic net shows no signs of malfunction.” And, another thing… Data faltered in constructing his sentence. He _hesitated_. He could only ponder the implications of that for a few moments before having to return his attention to Geordi.

“Well if you want, I can check you later, but for now I think we should just—“ just then, the Enterprise came to a sudden halt.

“Yellow alert,” barked out Picard just as Geordi said: “Why didn’t the warp stabilizers prevent the fall?”

They all heard a groan come from Deanna’s mouth. Diverting their attention to her, they saw her kneeling on her hands and knees on the floor, her head hung low.

“C-captain,” she looked up into the void, eyes welling up in tears. “I can hear them. I can hear them all,” she whispered.

“All of them? Are you implying that this, this _entity_ consists of more than one conscious being?” asked Picard, narrowing his eyes at the said entity as if that would reveal all of its mysteries.

“It—aah,” Deanna gasped in pain. “It’s not made up of more than one being. They’re _inside_.”

“If the readings correspond with what Counselor Troi is saying, I would hypothesize that the anomaly is an undiscovered variation of a black hole as seen in terms of quantum mechanics,” said Data.

“Quantum mechanics?” Picard muttered to himself. “The gateway to an alternate reality?”

“Precisely, sir.”

Picard pondered the new information for a few moments before turning back to Deanna and, after Riker had helped her back into her chair, asking, “Can you tell me how many of them are there?”

“One thousand fourteen.”

The ship went completely still.

“That is the exact number on the Enterprise,” Picard said quietly. “Does this—are _we_ —in there?”

Deanna seemed to be doing better now, starting to get used to the doubling of her mental periphery. “There is a chance. From what I can feel, there are a lot of familiar thought patterns emanating from inside the anomaly, however all of them are slightly different.”

Data looked down in his lap, something occurring to him. “… Must be the truth,” he mumbled. He looked up. “Sir, I believe Counselor Troi may be right. According to the sole facts available to us, an alternate version of the Enterprise crew is most likely somehow inside the anomaly.”  
“Wouldn’t that mean that to _them_ —or, us— _we_ would be the ones inside the anomaly? If they even sense it?” asked Riker, arms crossed.

“It would appear so. Perhaps their Counselor Troi is reaching the same conclusion about us,” added Data.

“Captain,” interrupted a young Lieutenant by the name of Georg Rashida.

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

“Status reports from all decks have arrived. No fatalities, but there are 16 minor injuries and 1 critical condition.”

Data tensed at the thought of who the critical condition might be. He had the sudden, irrational fear that it might be Kayla, despite the chances of that being extremely slim. She was located in the civilian section, which is one of the most shielded areas on the ship. Even so, her chances would have been 0.0098%; therefore Data really had no reason to be so worried.

 _Worried?_ Data stilled. How could that be possible? There was no way to explain the… the sensation he was experienced in that moment. And yet, that odd negative feeling of concern and _anxiety_ were clearly being processed and interpreted by him as those precise things.

“Captain, I wouldn’t advise going any closer towards the anomaly,” said Riker. “For the safety of Counselor Troi and the rest of the crew.”

“Agreed. Lieutenant LaForge, heading one mark four five, Warp 2.”

“Warp 2, sir.” As Geordi was punching in the digits, Data turned in his chair to face the Captain.

“Sir, may I be excused?”

Picard and Riker exchanged a look that Data didn’t even try to interpret, but Picard nodded in consent. Data stood up and headed towards the turbolift. Before he got there, it slid open to reveal a disheveled and panicked dark haired boy with striking green eyes: Rekku, Data realized.

He looked at Data with wide eyes, approaching him quickly. A weight settled in Data’s chest, already knowing what the boy had to say.

“Lieutenant Commander Data, sir,” Rekku licked his chapped lips in distress. “It’s Kayla.” Rekku closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “She’s hurt.”

 


	12. Linguistic Conventions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data's pissed, Kayla's thirsty (in more ways than one).

Rekku had never been more terrified of Data in his entire life as he was in that moment. After delivering the news, the android settled into a completely blank expression and pushed past him like a moving brick wall.

Rekku just barely managed to get out of his way before being knocked over. He decided to follow the android into the turbolift, ignoring the arising question of whether or not that was the safest course of action. The doors slid shut behind him, and Rekku settled for cowering in one corner of the lift, watching how Data was standing rigidly in the center of it, staring straight ahead. Rekku wondered if Data even registered his presence, or if he was so focused on Kayla being injured that the minor detail of his existence seemed unworthy of acknowledgment.   
Rekku snapped out of his thoughts only when Data started moving forward and through the now-open turbolift doors. Data swept down the corridor in an almost menacing way, though Rekku knew better than to assign an emotion to the way he was _walking_.

Or did he?

Rekku continued following Data, turning corners just as he did, keeping on his heels. Data seemed different. At first, Rekku thought it was because he had never actually seen the android in an emergency situation. After thinking a little more about it, however, he realized that in all rationality, this would not constitute an emergency. Kayla was badly hurt, yes, and Rekku was worried to the point of physical illness, but to Data? Rekku knows he must have calculated the odds of her survival a million times over, considering every variable, every possibility. Because of that, Data must have realized that in all likelihood (to quote Doctor Crusher) ‘she will live’.

That means that Data was in a setting other than ‘emergency android mode’ and more along the lines of… ‘worried and furious android mode’. At least, his reaction could easily be mistaken as such.

They were nearing the sickbay doors when Rekku stopped to consider whether it would be a good idea to go in with Data or not. He figured he should give them some privacy, but _not_ going in after having delivered the news would be strange. He settled for following Data into the main area of the sickbay, and then slowly slinking away when he had the chance. Whatever was wrong with Data, and whatever will go down in there (if Kayla was even conscious), Rekku didn’t want to be underfoot.

They burst into the sickbay, Data’s head whipping back and forth in search for any sign of Kayla. Doctor Crusher was standing a few feet away, just lifting her head from her PADD when the pair entered.

“Anything I can help you with?” she asked Data, confusion apparent on her features. Her eyes shifted to Rekku, who was standing behind Data, and gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Where is Kay—Miss Peyton?” Data demanded, quickly correcting himself.

_Correcting himself?_

“She’s in there…” Doctor Crusher indicated to the door behind her, her eyebrows furrowed. Data started moving towards the door, Doctor Crusher quickly moving in to intercept him. “She needs to rest. She’s been through a horrible ordeal, and—“

“What happened to her?” asked Data, not moving away and staring straight at the door, as if the harder he stared the more likely he could see her through it.

“Data—“

“What. Happened.”

Doctor Crusher sighed, glancing at Rekku, who was commencing his exit strategy. “Before the first lurch, she was in the engineering section, looking for Geordi.”

“Looking for Geordi? Why—“

“God, Data, I’m getting there! When did you become so impatient?”

“I am not impatient, Doctor, I am simply anxious to learn what had occurred.”  
“Data… Did just say that you are _anxious_?”

“It was an expression of informal vernacular to accommodate human linguistic conventions,” he said hurriedly. “Now if you will, Doctor,” he said, hiding the command in his tone to the best of his ability.

“I see,” she said, quirking an eyebrow.

“I do not have time for this. Excuse me,” Data brushed past her. Once inside, he swiftly turned around and punched in a lockdown code that would bypass even the CMO’s attempts of breaking in—at least for a while.

Data paused for a moment before he slowly turned around to face the lone hospital bed and its battered occupant.

Kayla appeared to be sleeping, her breathing even though a bit rattled whenever she inhaled. Her face was covered in mild bruises, but a fresh gash graced the right side of her face, vibrant against her pale skin. Data could see Doctor Crusher’s attempts at healing it, and he didn’t dare picture what it must have looked like before. Her left arm was broken, which was now lying in an old-fashioned sling. He made a mental note ask Doctor Crusher why she had not healed it yet.

Data sat down on the chair next to Kayla’s bed, not taking his eyes off her. He wasn’t sure whom he was thanking, but he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards the circumstances that allowed her to live.

He saw the white sheets did not cover her right hand. He also noticed that her hand seemed to be the lone body part that escaped the accident unscathed. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out to hold her hand.

Kayla stirred, and Data’s eyes snapped back to her face.

“Data…?” she rasped.

“Yes. I am here. You must rest—“

“I don’t want to rest,” she said, her voice stronger that time. She opened her eyes as much as she could, the swelling not making that an easy task. “Could you get me some water?” She looked down, only then noticing their clasped hands.

“Of course,” Data removed his hand immediately, caught off guard by his own sudden movement.

Kayla let out a weak chuckle. “They never tell you how nearly dying makes you thirsty as hell.” Data handed her a glass of water, sitting back down. Kayla took a few sips from the glass, and upon realizing that she wasn’t even strong enough to do _that_ , she handed it back to Data.

“Well?”

“I do not understand.”

“Aren’t you gonna explain to me the medical reasons of being insanely thirsty after a critical injury?” she smirked, then winced in pain.

“I believe I am a little preoccupied at the moment.”

“Oh…” Kayla looked down. “Well if you’re busy, I don’t want to keep you here for any longer than you need to—“

“You misunderstand. I am preoccupied by you,” he said. “Your injury, to be precise,” he added quickly.

“Oh, well in that case,” she smiled. “What happened up there?”

Now it was the android’s turn to look away. “There was an unexpected anomaly. I failed to detect it in time,” he looked at her. “And now you are injured.”

“I’ll live,” she grimaced. “And how could you not have noticed whatever it was in time? You’re _Data_.”

“I was preoccupied,” he answered simply.

“By thoughts of me?” she fluttered her eyes jokingly.

“Yes.”

Kayla stopped, staring at him. “… _What?_ ”

“I was preoccupied by thoughts of you.”

Kayla sputtered. “Well, yeah, you just said that, but— _What?_ ”

“I had been thinking about the time you discovered I have a pet cat,” he said. It was technically the truth, but his ethical circuits began acting up.

“Oh.” They sat in silence for a few moments. “So… what was the anomaly?”

“It was one Starfleet had never encountered before. What we were faced with was, in all likelihood, an undiscovered variation of a black hole that served as a gateway to an alternate reality.”

“Holy shit,” Kayla said dumbly. “I meant to say something more intelligent than _that_ , but… holy shit!”

“I concur.” Kayla laughed, and then hissed in pain.

“Don’t make me laugh, man. You’re killing me!”

Data thought about apologizing, but decided against it on the grounds that it would make the human laugh more.

“Anyway, what did the… thingy… show? What did Counselor Troi say? What did it look like?” Kayla shot out one question after another.

“According to the Counselor, the anomaly showed an alternate version of the Enterprise and its crew.”

Kayla paused, trying to process the implications of an alternate universe. She looked at him with a lost expression. “I don’t know how to respond to this,” she said honestly. “Wait… does this mean I get to talk alternate universe me? If I’m even on the Enterprise in that universe?”

“That is something we will never discover, as we have warped away from the area.”

“What?” she demanded. “Why?”

“Remaining would have been extremely dangerous. As it apparent by your condition,” he indicated her bed-ridden form.

The anger suddenly left Kayla’s features, and she settled back onto her pillow.

“But… there might have been another android, just like you—exactly like you—on that ship,” Kayla said softly. “I thought you’ve always wanted to meet someone like you.”

“Throughout my entire conscious existence, I have been searching for a life form like myself. I had a quest of finding ‘someone like me’ so that I was not alone in the universe. That, however, is no longer necessary,” Data’s golden eyes stared deeply into Kayla’s green-grey ones. “Because I no longer am.”

It took a moment for Kayla to process what he had just said.

“Data,” Kayla whispered reaching up to cup his cheek in her functioning hand. “I don’t know what to say, I—“ Kayla didn’t have the right words to express all that Data said meant to her.

She brushed her thumb across his cheeks, trying to memorize everything detail of his face. Quickly, before she had time to change her mind, she pulled his face closer to hers. She looked searchingly into his eyes, which seemed to be alive with… something. Then she closed the gap between them, letting her lips brush softly against his before she pressed them closer.

Kayla tried to show Data all that she wanted—all that she needed… And all that she thought Data needed.

She pulled back suddenly, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking—this is completely—“

Data cut her off by placing both his hands on the side of her face. She stayed silent, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious under his gaze, yet she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from his.

Data leaned closer, their noses almost brushing, and Kayla could feel wisps of his breath caressing her upper lip. Kayla shuddered in confusion, in anticipation… Slowly, his lips grazed hers, and Kayla felt her knees go weak despite her lying down. She lifted her hand to the back of his neck, sifting through his hair as he lightly sucked on her bottom lip, eliciting a soft and quite embarrassing moan from her.

Using this opportunity, Data tasted tentatively with his tongue, causing Kayla to tighten her grip on his hair.

“Damn it, Data!” they heard Doctor Crusher curse through the door. They broke apart mere nanoseconds before the CMO entered the room, an icy glare fixed at Data. Kayla was suddenly envious about the lack of physical evidence on the android’s face.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Doctor Crusher demanded. Kayla froze in terror. “Data, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you can’t just do that.”  
“Doctor, I can explain—“

“I could suspend you for barring the Chief Medical Officer from one of her patients.”

Kayla let out a relieved breath. “Data, maybe you should go,” she offered with a smile. Data regarded her for a moment, and then nodded.

“I apologize for the intrusion, Doctor,” said Data as he started towards the door.

As soon as he left, the doctor turned to face Kayla. “I don’t know what that was about, but you need your rest. Would you like some sleep medication?”

“No, thank you,” Kayla murmured. She had some things to think about before even thinking about sleeping.

Doctor Crusher nodded with a smile and left her alone.

_Oh, dear God._

 

X

 

“Tell me something,” said Kayla a few days later.

“I can tell you a multitude of things. Would you like to specify?”

“Ha ha. Looks like someone miraculously developed a sense of humor,” she chuckled from her bed. She was still bed-ridden, but Doctor Crusher told her she could be up and about in a few days if she behaved. Her mother was completing a shift, so she had the quarters all to herself. She wanted to use this opportunity to talk to Data about what happened between them, but somehow—she had no idea how—they just ended up watching an old Earth film called ‘The Breakfast Club’ or something. They had yet to encounter anything remotely related to a morning meal.

“You can recite massive amounts of information with perfect accuracy, right?” she asked as she popped a kernel of popcorn in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“That is correct.”

“So what if there’s a contraction in the text?”

“What if there is one?”

“Well, can you just recite it _with_ the contraction? Because you seem completely unable to use it in everyday language.”

“I do not know. I have never attempted it before.”

“Well then try,” she commanded.

“What shall I recite?”

“I don’t know… Just pick something we talked about once.”

Data’s eyes did their trademark rapid back-and-forth movements before he opened his mouth to speak. “’Come on, Data. Just say it, I beg you!’. ‘I cannot. I do not understand the purpose of this.’. ‘I swear to God, Data, it is not a big deal—“

“Nah,” Kayla waved her unfractured arm. “You can’t say it. I wouldn’t say ‘it is not a big deal’.”

“It appears that I do not have the capacity to use contractions.”

“See, I don’t understand that.” Data looked at her as though he expected her to elaborate. “I just… You can calculate how long it would take for us to reach the freakin’ end of the solar system at Warp 6, and yet you can’t physically make yourself say ‘isn’t’ instead of ‘is not’? That’s bullshit.”

“I do not know.”

“Isn’t this frustrating to you? Oh wait, what I am saying. Of course it doesn’t. How is that _I_ always suffer because of your incompetence?” she grinned.

“I am grateful you can tolerate me in spite of my repeated incompetence,” he said.

“It’s so weird that you’re making jokes now. At least I hope they’re jokes, ‘cause otherwise it would be a little sad.” She smiled at him and turned back to the film.

A few tranquil moments passed before Kayla spoke again.

“Besides, why _would_ saying ‘fuck’ be such a big deal, anyway?”


	13. Contractions

“So what’s up with Data?” asked Rosa the next day. She had brought Kayla the work and notes she’d missed since the accident.

“What do you mean what’s up with Data? Why would I know what’s up with Data?” Kayla panicked.

“Wow, defensive much? I just meant that’s he’s been acting a little weird lately, and I thought you might know something,” she continued writing her homework. “Besides, you don’t need to open your mouth for anybody to know you’re hiding something,” she muttered.

“Why would I know anything? And--- wait, what’s _that_ supposed to mean?” Kayla demanded.

Rosa quirked an eyebrow at her. “Half betazoid, remember?”

“Oh. Right.” _Damn._

“Man, you must’ve hit your head harder than we thought.”

“Shut up.”

“But seriously, do you know anything?”

“Well,” Kayla stopped writing. “Why don’t you tell me what’s different about him, and I’ll see if I can offer some insight?”

“Okay…” Rosa thought for a moment. “Well for one, he keeps getting distracted.”  
“Distracted how?”

“Sometimes, when someone wants to ask him a question during class, we have to call his name twice before he responds.”  
“So? That could just mean there’s something wrong with his… auditory receptors?” Kayla tried.

“That’s what I thought at first, but when I asked him about it, he just said that he’s ‘functioning within normal parameters’.”

“Yep, that sounds like him. That is very Data. Typical Data behaviour.”

“Yeah…”Rosa trailed off, giving her a strange look. “Anyway, another thing he does is that he keeps staring at where you used to sit.”  
“…He does?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Kayla tried to hide the small smile forming on her lips at the thought of Data missing her. So much so that the brilliant android got _distracted_.

“So?” Rosa inquired, making Kayla snap to attention.

“So what?”

“ _So_ what do you think is wrong with him?”

“Oh. Oh! Um, maybe he’s having a malfunction that he doesn’t want to talk to his students about,” she offered.

“Well did he say anything to you?”  
“What? I just said that he might not want to talk to his students about it. I’m his student.”

“Yes, and you’re his friend.”  
“…What gives you that idea?”

“Well maybe the fact that he tore through the entire ship like a madman when Rekku told him you were hurt?”

Kayla’s heart skipped a beat. “He did _what_?”

Rosa’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean you didn’t know? How do you think he ended up in sickbay _during_ his shift?”

“I don’t… I never really thought about that.” She pushed the events that happened in the sickbay out of her mind.

“Yeah, well. Rekku said he’s never been so terrified of Data in his entire life.” Kayla slumped back in her bed in shock. Well that was certainly an interesting turn of events.

“I totally get it. I wouldn’t know what to make of it either,” said Rosa, turning her attention back to the work in front of her. The only problem was that Kayla knew _exactly_ what to make of it, she was just too afraid to admit it… even to herself.

X

Days passed, and Kayla slowly gained the strength to be able to move about on her own. Her left hand hadn’t completely healed yet, which was quite unusual considering the medical technology available on the Enterprise. Doctor Crusher had informed her that the bones in her hand had been close to being completely pulverized, so all things considered, Kayla could say she was at peace with the situation.

Unfortunately, while these crucial healing days passed, she stewed in all the questions she wasn’t sure wanted to here the answers to. Actually, scratch that. She wanted to know the answers to those questions more than she’d ever wanted the answers to anything before. She just wasn’t sure if she could deal with them, in a realistic sense.

Even if her rampant imagination was on the right track about the events that transpired over the past few weeks, and Data was in fact… _interested_ in her, what the hell would they do about it? What _could_ they do about it?

She was pretty sure that her mother would have a coronary.

Would Captain Picard kick Data off the Enterprise? What were even the laws about this kind of relationship? Not to mention that Kayla was seventeen and nowhere near being considered an actual adult.

Maybe she could—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden explosion of movement coming from the door.

“Rekku told me to come up here and talk about whatever’s bothering you and I agree with him because we can feel your episode of inner turmoil from the other end of the _goddamn ship_ ,” Rosa burst into the room, immediately making herself at home on Kayla’s bed.

Kayla blinked in surprise for a few moments before responding with a weak, “What inner turmoil?”.

Rosa squinted at her from less than a foot away from Kayla’s face. “Don’t start with me, Kay,” she warned. Kayla maintained her stand for a few seconds before letting out an elongated sigh and dropping her head back on the pillow.

“Tell me what’s eating you,” Rosa lifted herself up and braced her back against the headboard, shifting Kayla so that her head was in her lap. When she didn’t answer, Rosa started softly petting the hair on Kayla’s head and whispered: “Don’t make me punch you in the face.”  
“Fine,” Kayla huffed, enjoying the repetitive motion of Rosa’s fingers through her hair. It reminded her about the time when her dad just died and she laid in bed with her mother every night for two months, her mother running her hands over her hair until she fell asleep.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to Data about what happened.” Rosa let out a soft sound but didn’t answer, so Kayla continued. “I’m really worried about the… ramifications of his actions. And of my possible future actions regarding that.”

“What are you worried about?”

Kayla thought for a moment. “I’m worried about him worrying.”

Her fingers stopped moving. “But Data can’t worry, can he?”

“Exactly.”  
“Ah.” The fingers resumed their blissful work, but Kayla winced at the familiar sound elicited from unfamiliar lips.

“He says that all the time,” muttered Kayla, not expecting it to be actually heard.

“Hmm?” Rosa questioned.

“Nothing.” The pair sat in silence for a few moments, both deep in thought.

“Either way, I think the best solution would be to just talk to him about it. See what happens, find out what his problem is… then telling me every single detail because I’m a curious piece of shit,” Rosa added with a mischievous grin.

Kayla laughed and poked her friend in the stomach. “You wish.”

X

Rosalyn fucking _knew_ Data said “Ah” all the time. She fucking knew what Kayla’s problem was, and she fucking knew the girl would need a little help in getting off her ass and do something about it, for better or worse.

Rosa was actually pretty impressed by how often Kayla managed to forget about half her heritage. Did she honestly not realize she was being manipulated by a severely fed up half-betazoid? Not malevolently or anything, but Kayla was definitely smart to realize something like that.

Either way, Rosa was satisfied with the results of finally getting her friend to spur into action. For her own and Rekku’s sanity, if nothing else.

X

So that was that. Kayla would have to gather her bearings and talk to Data about it. ‘It’ being everything: her feelings, his ‘feelings’—which was a whole other conversation in itself--, their kiss… Their kiss.

“Oh, God,” Kayla said to her empty room, her head in her hands. Perhaps if she just stayed like that, bent over on her bed until the end of time, she wouldn’t have to deal with it. She needed to face that this final conversation could end either of two ways: her crying because everything she felt for Data could never be reciprocated and his apparent growth from cutie android to cutie android-persony-thing was just her imagination and he was still as emotionless as he was when she first met him in the holodeck… Or, her crying because he _did_ feel the same way (or at least to extent to which he could feel like that) and she could never be together because she’s technically still underage for three more months and he was clearly an older man—

“Hold the fuck up,” Kayla’s head snapped up. Bracing her injuries, she sauntered over to her desk and retrieved her PADD. After a few swipes here and there, her eyes widened in hopeful vigor. “This could change everything…” she whispered.

Perhaps there was a third way the day could end.

X

The door chime sounded, and Data looked up from the series of equations displayed on his PADD. Eyebrows furrowed—which, as he noticed, was the newest way in which his various thought processes manifested themselves—he got up to punch in the access code.

Kayla entered, her own PADD in hand, looking at Data with an expression he could not yet name.

“Hey,” she started somewhat tentatively.

“Hey,” he imitated, eliciting a huff of laughter from the younger girl. “Please, come in,” he added, remembering his the human expectations he had been practicing to uphold.

“Data, do me a favor and stop being so damn formal. We’re… well, you know. No formality needed,” she smiled, complying with his request. He nodded in agreement.

“So,” Kayla leaned back in her seat, a devious smile forming on her lips. “A little birdie told me that you _miss_ me,” she sing-songed.

Data surprised himself with a sudden wave of tight hostility.

“And where did this ‘little birdie’ attain this information?” he said darkly. He realized this was a mistake judging from the girl’s change in posture. She sat up straighter, her eyes lit with surprise and… mild fear, he noted in shame.

“I am sorry. I did not realize it was meant as a ‘joke’,” he said softly, not quite meeting her eyes. Why had that become such a cumbersome task?

“It’s okay, Data… you just caught me a little off guard with the whole ‘Undertaker’ tone,” she smiled.

“The Undertaker?” he questioned.

Kayla shook her head, “Just a grumpy dude.”

Her heart warmed at the following “Ah.”

“It is true, however,” Data said after a moment. At the girl’s questioning look, he continued. “What the ‘little birdie’ had told you. I do in fact… have negative feelings concerning your prolonged absence.”

“Just say it.”

“I…,” Data hesitated, finally forcing himself to meet her eyes. “I miss you.” Next thing he knew, he had an armful of human female in a tight embrace. The momentum nearly caused the chair he had been sitting on to topple over.

“I miss you, too,” she whispered into the crook of his neck, the tiny wisps of air causing him to shiver. He ignored the sensation in the favor of wrapping his arms around the girl. After just a few moments, however, he slid his arms off her and pointedly looked anywhere except at her.

“This cannot continue,” he said coldly, careful to rid his speech of any human inflections he had picked over the past few weeks.

“W-what?” asked Kayla, only slightly pulling away from him. Her expression searched his for any indication that she might have heard him wrong. “I thought you… I thought that you, uh, _felt_ the same way.”

“I do. I believe I do, however…” he hesitated. “I am much older than you.”

Kayla slumped lower in Data’s lap, loathe to get up. “You can’t expect me to believe that _that_ is what you chose to base your argument on.”

Data remained silent.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Kayla finally stood on her feet, looking at the android. “You’d be willing throw whatever the fuck this is away on something like _that_?” she demanded, eyes filled with anger.

“It is not appropriate.”

“Not… _appropriate_? Jesus Christ, Data, it’s like the last few weeks haven’t even happened!” she turned away from him. “I was hoping you wouldn’t be so quick to throw this away, especially with that. But because I really _really_ like you, I’ve come prepared.”

Data was confused. “Prepared how?”

Taking out her PADD, Kayla turned back to him. “Data, how long have you been serving in Starfleet?”

“I do not see how this is relevant to—“

“Just answer the damn question.”

“Fifteen point two four years.”

“Mhm. For the sake of simplicity, let’s round that down to fifteen years. And Data, how long did it take you to finish studying at Starfleet Academy?”

“In terms of retaining the necessary information, approximately five seconds. However, I stayed at the academy for one year in order to achieve test scores at the same rate as the senior students.”  
“I see. And here,” she pointed at her PADD, “It says that you applied and got accepted to the academy about two years after you were found and activated, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And I also read in this report that you interpret primary activation as your birth, right?”

“Indeed.”

Kayla gingerly put her PADD down, and then placed one of her hands under her chin to pretend as though she was deep in thought. “Now would you do me a favor and add those numbers up for me real quick?”

“That is a fairly simple calculation, Kayla, I do not understa—“

“Data,” she warned.

“That is a total of eighteen years.”

“Yep.”

They stared at each other in silence.

“I do not understand.”

“Oh my _god_ , you dumb fucking android,” Kayla let out a noise of frustration and bent down to grab his shoulders. “You’re eighteen years old!”

Data’s expression was completely blank.

“Data… we’re technically the same age.”

“Kayla,” Data said softly.

“You’re basically sweaty, disgusting, hormone-filled teenage boy as far as your birth record is concerned,” she rambled on excitedly.

“Kayla,” he repeated.

“So by law, nothing bad could happen to you because even though the main argument would be based on a technicality, it could work! Seeing of course that anybody finds out in the first place—“

“KAYLA!” Data sprung up from the chair, causing Kayla to stumble backwards from the sudden reaction. Her eyes widened in fear. She had never heard Data shout before.

“It is not a mere technicality why this relationship cannot proceed on its current course! I cannot bear to be responsible for effectively ending any possibility for you to live a regular, human life. How do you suppose this… this _relationship_ will end, Kayla? I cannot grow old. What’s more, I cannot grow old by your side! I must to observe as you slowly fade from existence and then live on without you for the rest of _eternity_. I cannot give you children, I cannot provide you with the emotional support that humans crave and require in order to live. I cannot provide you with these because I am not human, and I cannot feel.”

Data’s outburst was met with silence. He found that he had to mentally brace himself before letting himself look at her reaction. What he saw, however, was not fear, or sadness, or even anger… Kayla wore a small smile on her lips and her eyes were brimming with a joyful shine.

“I do not understand your reaction,” he said hesitantly. Still silent, Kayla stepped in front of him and reached a hand out to cup his face.

“I was right,” she said softly.

“About what?”

“You are infinitely more human that you realize… Or did you just miss the biggest outburst of emotion that has happened on this ship just now?” she grinned. “And what’s more…” she trailed off.

“What is more?” he asked, thoroughly confused at… well, everything.

“No, I mean… you said ‘what’s more’. Contraction and all.”

Data blinked at her in disbelief before his eyes started shifting from side to side, searching his memory banks. “You seem to be… correct.” He stayed silent for a beat. “If I would require air, I would in all likelihood gasp at the moment.”

Kayla burst out laughing, all previous tension melting from her body. Then, to her surprise, Data pulled her into a tight embrace, his cheek resting on her hair.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” she murmured into his uniform. He brought his hand up her face and lightly lifted her chin. Her breath hitched as he covered her mouth with his. Kayla felt the power slip out of her legs, so she snaked her arms around Data’s neck in order to hold herself up. In response, his arms circled around her waist, pressing their bodies closer. After a few blissful moments Data broke the kiss.

“Everything.”


	14. Dawning Insight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I would like to apologize for my general shittiness. I know it’s been over a year since I updated, but I promised I would finish this fic, I may the gods strike me down if I don’t. Now, I got a new laptop and moved to Spain, but before I did, I didn’t get the chance to transfer the already written parts of the story to my new laptop. At first I was super freakin mad at myself for this epic dumbassery, but then I took it as a blessing. I wasn’t happy with the chapter I had written months earlier (nothing seemed to sound right), so I’m giving it a go with a fresh mind. I also lost the outline, but I remember most if not all of it, so fear not! Lightning Strikes will be completed!!!! :)

 

 

The observation deck was silent. It was night time as far as anyone onboard the ship was concerned, considering that day and night held no actual weight when one’s in the deep recesses of the galaxy.

 

Kayla sighed. To most people’s ears, her sigh would’ve sounded absolutely content: relaxing on the beige-and-maroon cushions of a silent room, gazing up at the stars whizzing past the ship that is home to so many. However, that was not the case. Yes, Kayla was very relaxed… However, the events of the past couple of weeks picked at her mind. Her previously broken (and now mostly healed) left arm still experienced the occasional echo of pain, and the gash on her face, though faded, was still visible. Some part of her believed that it might stay forever, reminding her of the ordeal she had gone through. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.

 

The day the anomaly was detected, she had gone down to Engineering looking for Geordi. She figured he was the closest thing Data had to a best friend, and she had questions. Questions concerning the realignment of Data’s temporal circuitry, and what it might mean. See, despite her initial joy that Data was morphing into a slightly more human… entity, a dark thought occurred to her. Nobody knew anything about androids, except for what they have learned from Data. Data himself has no real clue either, and what they would need in order to fully understand everything that is going on, they would need his creator… the late Doctor Noonian Soong.

 

In all honesty, Kayla was scared. She was scared because there was absolutely no way to know in exactly what way Data would change, how he would be when the metamorphosis was complete. Maybe he would become a “person”, for all intents and purposes (not to say that he wasn’t one now), but what kind of person? Everything she… well, _loved_ about him might completely transform into something unrecognizable. Everything he loved about her…

 

She shook her head. There was no point in overanalyzing something she had no control over.

 

In that moment, Kayla heard the doors swish open, revealing Rosalyn. Her friend looked… positively downtrodden. She was glad for the distraction of dealing with another person’s problems instead of wallowing in her own.

 

Kayla sat up, scooting over to make room for her friend. “Hey,” she offered a concerned smile. “What’s wrong?”

 

Rosa signed, taking a seat. She sat there silently for a moment, head in her hands. Then she spoke.

 

“It’s Maria,” she signed, then shook her head as if she had changed her mind.

 

Kayla reached out and rested her uninjured hand on Rosalyn’s shoulder. “Tell me.”

 

“It’s just,” she glanced up. “She’s been so… distant. At first I thought it was only me, but everybody’s been saying how strange she’s been acting. I have no idea what it could be, but I do know that it started right after we ‘ran into’ our alternate universe selves or whatever. We never see each other, her parents are worried to the point of illness, and I just,” she choked on her words, “I just don’t know what to do.” Her eyes glistened, and Kayla’s heart ached at her friend’s pain. And now that she thought about it, she _had_ actually noticed Maria’s absence.

 

“I just feel so hopeless,” she finished.

 

Kayla pursed her lips. “I know it’s a stupid thing to say, but have you tried talking to her? Confronting her about it?”  
  
“Of course I did,” Rosalyn whispered through her tears running down her face. “She doesn’t even try to pretend she’s fine when she’s telling me nothing’s wrong.”  
  
“How is she acting? Like weird how?”

 

“I don’t even know. Just sort of… distant, emotionless. It’s like she constantly has some unabandonable plan or project that nobody knows about.”

 

“That’s an oddly specific thing to say,” Kayla replied.

 

Rosalyn raised a hand dejectedly. “Half Betazoid, remember?”

 

Her eyebrows furrowed. “So you get that feeling from her? Like she’s planning something?”

 

Rosalyn thought for a moment. “It’s strange, but every time I’m near her, the word that comes to my mind is ‘quest’. I don’t know, it’s weird.”

 

Kayla leaned back in the chair, thinking. “Huh. That is strange. Have you tried maybe asking Counsellor Troi for help?”

 

“I would, and I’m still kind of thinking about it, but last time I brought it up to Maria she got really weird and angry about it. I’m worried she’s doing something that could her into a heap of trouble, and I don't want to be responsible for that, you know?”

 

“Yeah, well… If it’s something potentially dangerous, would you want to be responsible for that?”  
  
Rosalyn opened her mouth to speak, but Kayla beat her to the punch. “I know this is a difficult choice. I know how much you love Maria and don’t want to hurt her, but I think it’s worth going behind her back with this one thing. It could be dangerous if you don’t.” Kayla was sorry for being so blunt, fully knowing that it wasn’t her business to tell Rosa what to do, but honestly, she was worried for Maria too. She sounded like she needed some serious help, and fast.

 

“You know what?” Rosa began. “You’re right. It’s on me now, and this is the right thing to do. Thanks, Kay.” She offered a sad smile. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”  
  
Kayla smiled widely at her friend. “Crash and burn.”

 

~~~

 

“I’ll never let go Jack, I’ll never let go…”

 

“I will never—hmph. I _will_ never let—,” Data sighed. This activity proved pointless, even after 2.61 hours of practicing. Perhaps his accidental use of contractions during a heated moment was simply a one time occurrence. Nevertheless, he was adamant at acquiring the skill in order to better himself and his communication with his crew mates.

 

That was a partial lie. If his programming would allow it, he would attempt to deny the fact that he was, in actuality, doing this purely to impress Kayla. However, attempting to recreate an emotional moment through a supposedly ‘heart-wrenching’ scene in classic cinema, proved to be a fruitless endeavour.

 

On the ‘up side’, as some might say, Data was 98.6% certain that Kayla would find his attempts ‘cute as fuck’. He smiled, unknowingly so.

 

He switched off the holovid, leaving the task for another time. He picked up his PADD and walked over to his desk, removed Spot from his seat, and sat down. He briefly wondered why felines seemed to feel the need to occupy the most inconvenient spaces at all times.

 

Then he thought about his ‘father’. His dream. The meaning and the purpose of all that has occurred recently, and how Doctor Soong could so easily answer all the questions floating around in his mind.

 

How were these changes occurring? The physical transformation of his circuitry had been insofar completely unheard of. Especially considering the physical nature of it: nobody, other than his friend Geordi, had come in contact with the area. The possibility that the change had transpired by itself was extremely low, and yet there seemed to be no other logical explanation to the matter.

 

He decided that the continued thought process will not provide a solution to the dilemma, and so he diverted his focus to another affair.

 

His age.

 

If Kayla’s calculations were correct, and Data is indeed a mere eighteen years of age… That wouldbe a fascinating development. It had never occurred him that he could be anything other than an adult creature. And in a way, he was not. He has the physical appearance of a human male in his mid-thirties, he has vast knowledge far past the capabilities of any human, not to mention teenaged one.

 

Though it does not aid the fact that he would outlive Kayla by centuries— a thought that sends dark feelings surging through his core— it might help them convince their peers, eventually, about the possible appropriateness of their relationship. If they decide to have one.

 

He turned the issue over in his mind as though it was a giant rubik’s cube (an ingenious Hungarian invention), all the intricate pieces held together by the mechanism; all the pieces needed for a solution present, jumbled into an incoherent mess, just waiting to be put into place.

 

~~~

 

Kayla stood by the doors of Holodeck 3, waiting for Data to arrive. She figured since she was now in the position of instructor, she should be the one waiting on her pupil and not the other way around. Data emerged from around the corner, and their eyes met. Kayla’s feelings of anxiety from a days worth of overthinking their situation ground to a halt, and she smiled.

 

“Hey, Data.”

 

“Hello, Kayla,” he replied.

 

She chuckled. “Ever notice that our names rhyme?”

 

That earned her a Data Smile (a.k.a. slightly upturned corners of his lips in the most adorable fashion). “Indeed they do.”

 

“All right that’s enough chick flick moments for today,” Kayla grinned. “Come on in,” she said, and stepped through the doors, Data trailing behind her.

 

The android’s interest piqued as he took in his surroundings: It was a bare room, save for a table, two chairs, and an intriguing piece of technology Data had not encountered before.

 

It was a circular object with two grayer, more ridged handholds at what Data presumed to be the front of the device. The object was relatively flat, with what appeared to be ‘slices’ of multicolored sections.

 

Kayla approached the table and gestured at one of the chairs with her uninjured arm. “Please take a seat, young Padawan,” she said.

 

Data furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but followed her instructions nevertheless. “Padawan?” he questioned.

 

Kayla smiled as she sat on the chair across from him. “It’s a reference from an ancient Earth movie called Star Wars. I think to the untrained eye, many people would consider you to be the more advanced counterpart of a character called C-3PO.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “We’ll do a marathon and you can assess the similarities for yourself.”

 

Data nodded.

 

“So,” Kayla started, sitting up straighter. “Today’s lesson is emotion as it appears through music. I know you play the violin, so you should be at least slightly versed in the subject.”

 

“Yes, however many have criticised my inability to fully appreciate the compositions I perform,” he said, with just a hint of dejection.

 

“Yeah, I figured,” Kayla pursed her lips. “But this is different. Wes told about the time when you guys encountered the Aldeans. Remember them? They stole all your children.”

 

“Yes, I remember. It was during that mission when Captain Picard had told me that ‘Everything is impossible until it is not’. I recall being intrigued by that phrase.”

 

“Yeah, well. One of the little girls, Katie, told Geordi about this amazing Aldean device that turns one’s inner thoughts into music. After that, he created a program that mimics that device to the fullest extent he could take it.” She pushed the device towards him. “Wanna give it a go?”

 

Data’s eyes rested on the object in front of him. Kayla knew what he was thinking. All the species that are capable of sensing people’s thoughts and emotions never sensed anything from Data. Why would this be any different?

 

“Kayla…” he started, hesitant.

 

She held up a hand. “Just. Try it. Let’s see what happens.”

 

An eternity seemed to pass before Data lifted a golden hand, and gingerly rested it on the device.

 

Kayla sent him an encouraging smile. “You’re gonna need both hands for this, Data.”

 

“I am aware. I am simply trying to prepare myself for… whatever outcome.”

 

Kayla nodded in encouragement, and rested her back against the chair. Data directed his focus back on the object, inspecting the colors, willing them to show any sign of… anything. Anything at all.

 

Kayla’s finger twitched in anticipation, wishing Data would finally just—

 

Silence.

 

The two stared at the Aldean device, with both of Data’s hands resting on it.

 

Data’s eyes shut in crushing disappointment. He should have known the experiment would be met with failure. Having hope in any shape or form was new for him, and being let down from it was one he wished he could’ve spared himself. Becoming human suddenly seemed quite unappealing.

 

An unexpected warmth. Eyes remaining shut, he let out a breath he didn’t know had been holding (the result of a subsystem designed to mimic human behaviour, of course) and focused on the feeling. He recognized the feeling of Kayla’s hand on his from the few times they had met with his, but this time he registered his previous negative feelings slightly slipping through his body, seemingly exiting through his fingertips. It was quite an extraordinary feeling.

 

“Feeling,” Data’s eyes snapped open at the realization. And the music…

 

The music?

 

“Data,” Kayla whispered. She had tears in her eyes. He suddenly understood the difference between crying out of sorrow and out of joy; a distinction he had always had difficulty identifying.

 

The notes sounded… odd. “I… I do not understand what I am hearing,” he said, pained.

 

“It’s complicated, I know, but… I can hear happiness—“

 

“But that is not all,” he said. That was not all what he was feeling. It was inaccurate.

 

“No. I can hear hope, and sorrow, and… depth,” she finished.

 

“Depth,” he repeated. He did not fully understand, but he supposed no human could ever fully understand their own feelings either, not to mention the feelings of others. That is why their history always seemed to volatile.

 

“You get it, don’t you?” she asked, moving her other hand to grasp at his as well. “It is not about understanding. Yes, identifying your basic emotions was the first step, but after that… We’re all just as clueless.” She paused. “It’s about living your feelings, not understanding them.”

 

Data nodded. After a moment, he said, “I believe there is something wrong with my vocal systems. I can sense some sort of blockage forming in my oropharynx.”

 

Kayla chuckled, giving his hands a squeeze. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with you. For humans, it’s usually a sign that you are about to cry.”

 

Data blinked. “That is… fascinating. I possess functional tear ducts, but I have only been able to use them on command. I never experienced it as an automatic reaction to my situation or environment.”

 

Kayla shot out of her chair, quickly crossing the little space that separated them, throwing her arms (wincing) around Data. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered into his ear, and kissed him. She knew it was a risk, as they were in a semi-public place, but she didn’t care.

 

She did not need to touch the device in order to hear the music that was in her mind in that moment.

 

Data had the same thought.

 

~~~

 

Ensign Morgan sighed into her botanical samples. While she appreciated Commander Data’s immaculately ordered vials, files, and his general dreaminess, repetitive labour could get quite tedious after… She checked the monitor. Oh, God. Three hours. She had been there for three hours, checking the progress of every freaking sample he made. She missed being assigned to regular, human researchers. Much less productive.

 

Morgan heard the door hiss open behind her. A blonde girl with short-cropped hair entered the room, her expression cold and serious. She looked kind of familiar, but she couldn’t quite place—

 

Maria. That’s her name. Though they’ve only seen each other in the hallways, occasionally nodding at each other in acknowledgement, Morgan could tell that she looked different. Her eyes were webbed with red veins, dark circles surrounding them. Her cheeks lost their natural rosy coloring and were now sunk in. In fact, the best way she could describe how Maria looked at that moment was… hollow.

 

And out of place. What she could have been doing in the botany lab at any time, not to mention one in the morning, was beyond her.

 

However before she could ask, Maria’s icy blue gaze zeroed in on her.

 

“Are you done here?” she asked, monotone.

 

Morgan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Uh, almost. I just have to finish these last—“

 

“Get out.”

 

“… Excuse me?”

 

“I did not expect anybody to be in here at this hour. Please leave, now.”

 

They stared at each other in a standoff.

 

Then, out of the blue, Maria’s face transformed from icy focus to just plain tired. She sighed, lifting a hand up to her temple as though she was in some kind of pain.

 

“Please, just… I need to have this done.”

 

Morgan thought for a moment. “Fine. I guess I can finish this in the morning.”

 

“Thank you,” she said, walking over to the nearest computer.

 

Morgan noticed Maria staring at her from the corner of eye as she made to leave.

 

She didn’t type anything until she was gone.


End file.
